18th Century Men’s Waistcoats

Last updated: Jan 28, 2024

Other pages on this site focus on printed waistcoats and uncut waistcoat fronts, and depictions of men and boys wearing waistcoats. (More waistcoats are listed with suits.)

• Killerton National Trust 1361221, 1700; “Cream satin waistcoat. Two pockets with flaps. Sequinned and embroidered border at edges and on pockets.”
• Met 1975.34.1, sleeved waistcoat, British, early 18th century
• Manchester 1961.275, sleeved waistcoat in fawn silk brocade with bizarre design, 1705-1715
• V&A T.200-1984, sleeved waistcoat, silk damask lined with fustian and silk, 1710-1720
• Met 23.170.5, England, c. 1720
• Manchester 1953.455, cream satin waistcoat with chenille floral embroidery, 1720-1730
• Snowshill Wade National Trust 1349000, 1720-1740; “Waistcoat made from white linen with a lining of fine white linen to the foreparts and coarser linen on the back. It is decorated with corded quilting on the foreparts in a design of stylised flowers. Buttons missing apart from one dorset wheel.”
• Manchester 2003.169, 1730-1740; “Slate blue ribbed silk coat or sleeved waistcoat, with profuse metal thread embroidery down fronts, and around pockets, cuffs, and back pleats. Embroidery in a variety of coiled, couched, satin, and backstitch infills with chain stitch borders; in stylised scrolling floral and fruit motifs. Lined cream linen and faced with matching blue silk.”
• V&A T.72-1951, sleeved waistcoat, silk brocade, England, c. 1734
• LACMA M.63.54.2, sleeved waistcoat, linen with silk embroidery, England, c. 1720-1755
• Met 23.170.4, sleeved waistcoat, silk with metal thread embroidery, Britain, c. 1725-1750
• Man’s crewelwork waistcoat, England, c. 1735-1745
• LACMA M.2007.211.811, silk faille with silk embroidery, made in China for the western market, c. 1740
• Manchester 1986.103, ivory brocade silk fronts with unbleached woven linen back, 1740-1745
• Felbrigg National Trust 1402247, 1740-1750; “Light fawn woollen man's waistcoat with 10 decorative buttonholes in silver plaited braid, gilt basket-pattern buttons, large pocket flaps with fastening button, and 6 outlined buttonholes, peplum from low waist, part lined. Napped woollen tabby woven cloth.”
• Colonial Williamsburg 1991-477, blue silk brocaded to form, England, c. 1740-1755
• Met 1985.140.9, sleeved waistcoat, British, c. 1742
• V&A T.207-1957 in whiteworked cotton, lined and backed with linen, England, 1744
• V&A T.94-1931 (detail of embroidery and passementerie on the sleeve), Britain, c. 1745
• Manchester 1969.175, sleeved waistcoat, 1745-1750; “fine white linen ornamented with cord quilting; sleeves and lining of coarser linen. Slightly curved front edges fastening to high round neck with fourteen stud buttons (missing) and buttonholes on flap under left front edge, false pocket flap at hip each side; flared skirt open at sides from waist. Long sleeves in two shaped sections, outer seam open 6.5" at wrist. Fronts, front skirt edges and pocket flaps decorated with stylized floral design in corded quilting, details picked out in overcast stitch.”
• LACMA M.79.85, corded and quilted silk taffeta, c. 1745-1750
• Met C.I.66.14.2, sleeved waistcoat, porcelain blue silk brocaded with silver-gilt foliate and appliquéd with polychrome silk, London, 1747
• LACMA M.2007.211.812, silk cut, uncut, and voided velvet (ciselé) on satin foundation, France, c. 1750
• Christie’s Lot 137 / Sale 5318, a blue grosgrain embroidered waistcoat, first half of the 18th century of pale green silk, mid-18th century
• Man's embroidered vest, England
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1908-240, olive-green ribbed silk with chain-stitch embroidery, England, 1740s-1750s
• Met C.I.40.112, American or European
• Christie’s Lot 5 / Sale 5572, a gentleman's waistcoat of pale green silk, embroidered with trailing rose-buds on thorny stems, mid-18th century
• Killerton National Trust 1361222, 1750; “Cream silk waistcoat with linen back. Fronts embroidered with floral sprays. Trailing floral border and pocket flaps with seqiuned details, 12 buttons and 2 pockets.”
• Meg Andrews 8635, light blue silk French damask sleeved waistcoat, Friesland, c. 1750
• Snowshill Wade National Trust 1349003, 1750-1755; “Waistcoat made from blue silk grosgrain with a blue silk twill part lining with a cream linen back. It is decorated with 45 mm silver lace around part of the neck, front and hem and round and on the pocket flaps.”
• Snowshill Wade National Trust 1349004, 1750-1755; “Waistcoat made from red silk velvet with a red flannel back and lined with twilled and tabby silk facings and part lining and a fustian back. The front and hems and round and on the pocket flaps are decorated with applied embroidery in silver gilt plate, purl, jap and sequins. There are 22 silver gilt embroidered buttons.”
• V&A T.12&A-1981, a panel of embroidered silk for a waistcoat, France, 1750s
• Snowshill Wade National Trust 1349002, 1750-1760; “Waistcoat made from gold silk damask lined with cream twilled silk facings and part lining with a cream linen back. It is trimmed with silver lace 10cm deep around the front and the hem and round and on the pocket flaps. The lace is made en disposition. There are 17 buttons embroidered with silver purl and plate.”
• V&A T.434-1967, sleeved waistcoat in figured silk damask, made in England c. 1750-1760
• Met 2009.300.2839, probably British, 1750-1770
• Met C.I.46.9.6, British, third quarter of the 18th century
• Christie’s Lot 3253 / Sale 4981, a fine waistcoat of white cotton with three-quarter sleeves and elaborate embroidery to the lapels and pockets
• Bonham’s Lot 1036, Sale 17555, a Continental embroidered silk gentleman's waistcoat, worked with scrolling floral silk embroidery and sprigged with sequins along to the center front, hem and pockets, with embroidered covered buttons and a woollen back
• Manchester 1956.203, green silk with brocaded border design, 1755-1765
• Ormesby Hall National Trust 709706, 1759-1761; “Cream twill silk long waistcoat embroidered with flowers and foliage using silk threads and silk ribbon in pink, green blue and beige. Also spangles with eleven buttons, silver fabric and linen backed.”
• Meg Andrews F168, damask waistcoat with gold buttons, c. 1760
• Newport Historical Society 42.1.2, white cotton twill waistcoat with embroidered front, lined with linen
• LACMA M.2007.211.813, cotton plain weave with cotton corded quilting, possibly England, c. 1760
• V&A 894-1864, brocaded silk with gold embroidery, probably worn as formal court dress, England, 1760s
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1908-242, ivory ribbed silk with embroidery, England, 1760s
• Sunnycroft National Trust 1320639, cream satin, 1760-1769
• LACMA M.67.8.6, embroidered silk taffeta, France, c. 1760-1770
• Meg Andrews 7998, embroidered Imperial yellow satin made for Western export, 1760s
• Dudmaston National Trust 814796.1, silver/gold brocade, 1760-1770
• LACMA M.83.108.6, silk and metallic thread brocade on silk faille ground, France, c. 1760-1770
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1965-17-2, silk satin with embroidery and sequins, England, France, or America, 1760s-1770s
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1899-314, chartreuse silk satin with silk and chenille chain-stitch embroidery, France, 1760s-1770s
• Manchester 1953.103, sleeved waistcoat in white twilled cotton with green silk embroidery, 1760-1780
• Manchester 1962.222, 1760-1780; “Fine machine knitted silk in horizontal stripes of brown and white with less red and green, lined linen. Front in one section each side of fastening to round neck with 12 matching silk thread-covered buttons. Front cut away and sides sharply flared below waist. Slanting pocket with welt each side below waist; edges faced twilled silk; linen back in two sections, seams open below waist.”
• Manchester 1952.357, court waistcoat in white satin, embroidered in silks and chenille, worn by Sir John Thomas Stanley, 1770-1780
• A man’s waistcoat, c. 1770-1780, in Fitting & Proper: “dark yellow (gold) silk taffeta, lined with beige linen”
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1940-13-6, silk taffeta with tambour embroidery, France (worn by Francis West), c. 1770-1780s
• Manchester 1983.619, 1770-1775; “cream cotton roller-printed with all-over pattern of tiny random purple dots (stormont print). Front edges, side seams, buttons and pocket edges printed with "embroidery" of tiny blue pansies, red rosebuds and yellow scalloping. Purple "chainstitching" outlining pocket flaps and front edges. Collarless, buttoned to neck with 13 buttons. Bottom edges cut away towards skirts. Three vents, centre, back and side seams. Back and lining of linen.”
• Meg Andrews 8690, sleeved quilted waistcoat, c. 1770-1775
• DAR 56.24, an embroidered silk satin waistcoat said to have belonged to Major General Joseph Warren, 1770-1775
• Gentleman’s waistcoat, c. 1775
• LACMA 62.28, sequin, bullion and paste embroidery and cloth-of-silver on silk, France, c. 1775-1785
• Snowshill Wade National Trust 1349012, 1775-1785; “Waistcoat made from champagne ribbed silk with a cream wool twill back. It is lined with cream silk twill facings and cream linen. Trimmed with embroidered flower garlands and running designs in pink silk and green sequins on the leading edges and hem of foreparts and pocket flaps. It fastens with 13 buttons embroidered in pink and green silks, silver sequins and purl.”
• Snowshill Wade National Trust 1349019, 1775-1785; “Waistcoat made from black panne velvet with a black wool twill back and with black silk twill facings and part lining. The back is lined with cream fustian. It fastens with black silk death's head buttons.”
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1940-13-5, ivory silk taffeta with satin-stitch silk embroidery, France (worn by Francis West), c. 1770-1790s
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1991-75-27, tan linen waistcoat with silk embroidery, made in America in the late 18th century
• Christie’s Lot 302 / Sale 5422, a gentleman’s waistcoat of cream silk satin embroidered with tulips and edged in blue silk ribbon, late 18th century
• Newport Historical Society 42.1.10, “Double breasted deep cream color sleeveless waistcoat, two pockets, twenty-five buttons down front”
• Manchester 1987.88, double-breasted dimity with embroidered belt effect, 1780-1785
• Colonial Williamsburg 2019-121, England, c. 1785; “made from a broadcloth and faced in a matching twilled shalloon. The back of the waistcoat is made from a poor-quality linen and the lining from a heavily napped fustian. The waistcoat has a standing collar and silver metallic lace running down the front and hem and around the welted or cross pockets. The most notable thing about the waistcoat is the extreme alteration that took place on the side seam, making it nearly 1/3 larger than the first making of the garment.”
• Manchester 1953.448, rose-pink satin figured waistcoat with floral design in cut and uncut velvet, pearl button fastenings, 1785-1790
• Historic New England 1988.156, c. 1785-1805
• Historic New England 1953.319, c. 1785-1805
• Historic New England 1923.817, c. 1795-1815
• LACMA M.59.23.2, silk floral embroidery on silk faille, England, c. 1780
• Meg Andrews 1046, waistcoat from the family of Thomas Crewe Dod, England, c. 1780; “The high stand up collar above small revers, double breasted, ten sets of buttons, straight pockets, of white horizontally striped cotton, the front, and lower section, as well as the pockets embroidered with old yellow and ivory serpents reaching to eat the apples hanging from the leafy meander, embroidered in dense green silks and silver wrapped silk thread, the buttons embroidered with a green and silver central and outlined in yellow and silver. lined and backed with linen with two linen ties.”
• FIT 93.132.4, a silk brocade waistcoat with metal thread embroidery, c. 1780
• Waistcoat of Col. William Ledyard, striped linen, worn in 1781
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1940-13-7, striped silk satin, France (worn by Francis West), 1780s
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1899-315, silk with gilt-foil weft floats and embroidery with sequins, England or France, 1780s
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1959-34-1, ivory silk satin with silk embroidery and silver sequins, England or America, 1780s
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1955-30-28, tan cotton, Philadelphia, 1780s
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1943-17-7, ivory silk satin quilted to white linen, with tambour embroidery, America, 1780s
• Snowshill Wade National Trust 1349026, 1780-1790; “Waistcoat made from ivory silk satin with a cream wool twill back. There are cream silk facings and the skirts are lined with silk twill and the rest with cream linen. It is trimmed with multicoloured silk embroidery of running sprays of flowers down the leading edges, pocket flaps and collar. There are individual flowers overall. The buttons are silk covered and embroidered.”
• Snowshill Wade National Trust 1349020, 1780-1790; “Waistcoat made from green ribbed silk with a sage green wool twill back and ribbed silk skirts. It is faced and part lined with green silk twill with a linen back. It fastens with plain green silk covered buttons.”
• Snowshill Wade National Trust 1349022, 1780-1790; “Waistcoat made from cream ribbed silk with a cream silk twill back. It has cream silk twill facings and part lining and a cream linen back. It is embroidered all over with silk in a design of flowers and scales in lilac and green. The foreparts and pockets are embroidered in matching round wire braid. The original buttons are silk covered and embroidered.”
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1943-17-3, ivory silk satin with silver metal-wrapped thread and multicolored silk embroidery in tambour work with bright pink sequins and silver flower-shaped foil, America, 1780-1790s
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1943-17-6, ivory silk taffeta with satin stitch embroidery, America, 1780s-1790s
• V&A T.231A-1917, embroidered ribbed silk, France, 1780s-1790s
• Manchester 1954.973, cream silk satin waistcoat with floral embroidery and applique circles, 1780-1800
• Henry Ford 55.140.68, embroidered taffeta waistcoat, 1780-1820
• Henry Ford 96.0.171.8, embroidered silk satin waistcoat, 1780-1820
• Henry Ford 35.596.22, twill linen waistcoat, 1780-1840
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1943-17-5, striped silk velvet with chenille and metal-thread embroidery, France (worn by Colonel Tench Francis), c. 1785-90
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1943-17-4, striped silk trimmed with brocaded silk ribbon, America, c. 1785-1790
• LACMA M.67.8.4, silk embroidery on silk faille, England, c. 1785-1795
• Manchester 1955.255, white cotton waistcoat with white satin stripe, embroidered with bow and tassel design, 1785-1790
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1960-143-1, silk satin with silk embroidery, England or America, late 1780s-early 1790s
• V&A T.89-1924, made of silk woven by the Maze and Steer weaving company, 1788-1790
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1943-17-2, ivory cotton twill with gilt metallic thread embroidery in tambour work, America, c. 1790-1795
• DAR 1430, silk satin waistcoat with mock pocket welts and double-breasted center front, embroidered in serpentine with foliage, worn by Thomas Rumrill at his 1793 wedding in Roxbury, Massachusetts
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1956-29-18, linen with gilt-thread embroidery, England or France, 1790s
• DAR 56.19, waistcoat in off-white ribbed silk with striped ground pattern, embroidered along the front and waist edges with chain-stitched floral sprays, 1790-1800
• Christie’s Lot 103 / Sale 5318, a gentleman's waistcoat embroidered with floral borders, probably Italian, 1790s
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1906-113, ivory silk satin with silk and chenille embroidery, France, c. 1790-1800
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1930-76-1 and Philadelphia Museum of Art 1930-76-2, ivory silk satin with tambour embroidery, England or France, c. 1790-1800
• Meg Andrews 8327, linen waistcoat with tambour embroidery in a guiloche design, 1790s
• Chastleton House National Trust 1430632, 1790-1810; “A double-breasted waistcoat, the front of brocaded silk with a design of polychrome floral sprigs, the lining and back of white cotton.”
• LACMA M.73.33.3, silk satin, France, c. 1790-1825
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1940-13-2, checkered ivory silk with silver-thread twill tape, France (worn by Francis West), c. 1795
• Philadelphia Museum of Art 1936-7-7, brown printed cotton twill, America, c. 1795-1805