A while back, Mr. Caleb Wells of T.M. Lewin very graciously sent us this timeline for the evolution of men’s clothing. (Do zoom in. It’s an interesting overview.)
At some point, I hope to pursue nerdy historical detail for several of the timeline items, especially the coat shirt, i.e., the shirt that buttons all the way from top to bottom.* Today, however, we’re going to look a little more closely at the three-piece suit and its development, courtesy Timothy Long, Curator of Fashion at the Museum of London.
*Contrary to what we see on our romance novel covers, until late in the 1800s, men’s shirts went on over the head.
If you're having trouble seeing the graphic, here's a full-size view—with thanks to Karen Anne, for finding it!
Readers who receive our blog via email might see a rectangle, square, or nothing where the video ought to be. To watch the video, please click on the title to this post.
One of us -- 
8 comments:
The Lewin graphic is too fuzzy to read zoomed in.
The version of the Lewin graphic that's been linked is a low-res version (only 120x800), and the typeface is unreadable. If you could upload a higher resolution version under the same name, we should all be able to read it. I'm quite looking forward to it. :)
Hi, loved the video, but in true nerdy fashion wished he'd gone into muuuuch more detail!?!
Thanks you as always for these,
N
Great post! I look forward to your history of the buttoned shirt as not only are the romance covers inaccurate so are the writers descriptions!
Here's the Lewin graphic:
http://www.dapperfied.com/300-year-history-british-menswear-design/
Karen Anne, thank you. I've reposted the graphic full size, but even on my huge monitor I can't zoom in properly. I've added your link to the post.
Charles II saw a sleeveless coat on a Turkish ambassador and wanted something similar to help him look not so tall (he was over six feet when most men were 5'6"-5'8"). The horizontal line of the bottom of the waistcoat made his legs look shorter.
His father Charles I started the pantaloons of the cavaliers because his legs were not straight and pantaloons made this less noticeable. He too got the idea from a representative to London from another country.
Post a Comment