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VEST
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D:
1. "Garment worn under the justaucorps or
the suit. It has sleeves, basques and pockets, and is buttoned, but it
reaches only to the knees. (Diderot., "Vests").
2. Garment with four flaps (pans), which reaches to the knees. (Larousse XX siècle, "Vests").
E:
Polonaise (Lb., see polonaise, E.1)
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WAISTCOAT
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D:
1. Short sleeveless garment worn under a vest, jaquette ...
etc. A sort of camisole of wool or cotton, which was worn
next to the skin or over a shirt. Thegilet is a vest without
basques, and originally without pockets. (Larousse, XX siècle, "gilet").
2. see camisole, D.2
E:
camisole
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o
DOCUMENTATION:
o This information has been collected from
Diderot's Encyclépédie, the Dictionnaire Larousse de XX
siécle. The Cut Of Men's Clothes: 1600-1900 by Norah Waugh (London
1964, "Other Types of Garments", p. 89, "French Terms used with
the English Equivalent", p. 90), XV111E Siècle: Institutions,
Usages et Costumes by Paul Lacroix (Paris, 1885, po 493), and the
Louisbourg Archives.
o We have studied here only the garments which are mentioned
in the Louisbourg documents.
o The origin of each detail is given in parentheses.
o In order to avoid repetitions each time a term
appears, we have indicated cross references the first time a term appears.
o
o (a) Justaucorps
o The ,justaucorps, the 'jacket' of the 18th
century suit, hung to the knees. It could be closed along a row of buttons at
the front. It had no collar. Each side had large box pleats called "basques"
and the back was open from the waist. The sleeves had cuffs, called
"buttes de la manche". The pockets had flaps with button-holes
matching the buttons sewn on the coat.
o After making his measurements and tracing the contours
onto the material, the tailor cut out the pieces: two front pieces, two for the
back, two pieces for each sleeve, two sleeve cuffs and two pocket flaps were
the main parts of the garment.
o The tailor assembled the two pieces of the back by a
seam from neck to waist, in the center of the back. The tails were left
divided. Then the front pieces were prepared. Each side was more rigid near the
center, since the pieces were reinforced by a strip of buckram (bougran)
on the inside of each piece. Button-holes were cut down the left side of the
front. Openings for the pockets were already cut and the pockets were attached
from the inside, though the flaps were sewn to the outside of the fabric.
o Before joining front to back, the tailor sewed in a
precisely fitted lining. The side seams ran from the armpit towards the waist,
where they stopped. Then the garment was sewed above the shoulders. The collar
was finished with a narrow strip of fabric attached to the outside and folded
over the hem.
o Below the waist, the front and back had a surplus of
material on each side. This was pleated. The pleats, held up by points of
stitching, formed the pleats known as "basques".
o The sleeves remained to be assembled and attached. Two
seams were made to assemble the pieces which formed the upper and under sides
of the sleeves. Cuffs were done in the same way and attached to the sleeves.
Each cuff was trimmed with five buttons and button-holes. The lining,
separately assembled, was sewn to the sleeve. That done, the sleeve was sewn to
the body.
o (b) Vest
o The vest, which used the same basic model as the
justaucorps, was similar in assembly, though it was simpler. It was not as long
and had neither pleats at the sides nor cuffs on the sleeves. The sleeves were
slit a few inches up the wrist; a button-hole was made on one side of the cut
and a button placed on the other.
o (c) Breeches
o Breeches reached to just below the knee where they
ended with a garter. They closed at the front by either a brayette,
a simple buttoned vertical opening in the center, or by a pont or bavaroise,
a larger opening which buttoned at each side of the front.
o Four pieces were cut to make breeches. Two formed the
front and two the back. The tailor used the same material to line the tops of
the pockets and the slits at the bottom, which were at the sides and rose to
the knee. He sewed five buttons and button-holes around these openings. The
front piece and the back piece were then joined down the sides to the opening,
and along the insides of the thighs. The crotch-piece seam (la couture de
l'entre-jambe) between the two back pieces stopped three pouces from
the waist. The one at the front stopped at the brayette.
o A waistband with several pleats took up the surplus
material. It could be adjusted at the center of the back with a buckle and
closed at the front with two buttons and button-holes.
o The lining, made of dressed sheepskin ("peau de
mouton chamoisée"), fustian, or toile, was made separately and
added to the breeches after pockets had been sewn inside. Finally, the garters
were sewn into the bottom of each leg. They were narrow bands of the same
material, held together by a buckle.
o 3. MATCHED SUITS
o The three pieces which made up the suit were all
common in men's wardrobes at Louisbourg. It was less common to find them as
an ensemble, made of the same material. When that was the case (See
Table No. 4) the suit often would be made of plain materials woven without
twill ("drags: tissu simple, sans croisure") of different qualities,
or other allied materials such as camlet (camelot). There were also
velvet-like fabrics such as plush. Colours were usually sombre: blue, black or
different shades of gray or brown.
o Merchants or merchant-brokers, [61a] ship's
carpenters., [62] engineer., [63] bailiff of the Superior Council: [64] these
were the occupations of those who wore suits. Some exceptions can be found,
such as the master baker [65] and the lighthouse-keeper [66] who had suits, but
theirs were of inferior quality, made of "rough brown cloth" or
"common material".
o A few details show the refinement attainable by the
wealthy. Such is the case for a suit for which material was ordered in France
in 1729[67] It was made of "drap d'Elbeuf or something more
beautiful, iron gray in colour, with fine red lining, and with all the trimming
matched".
o
o
TABLE N0. 4:
FABRICS AND COLOURS OF SUITS
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PERIOD
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FABRIC
|
COLOUR
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|
1713 to 1745
|
8 cloth (drap):
3 unspecified type
1 d'Elbeuf 1 d'Abbeville 1 "gros drap" 2 "canelle" 3 material (étoffe): 1 unspecified type 2 common stuff 3 plush 1 camlet on silk 1 short nap maroccan (ras de maroc) |
3 brown - 2 iron gray - 1 black - - - - - |
|
1748 to 1758
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9 cloth: 6 unspecified type
2 d'Elbeuf 1 new and fine 3 camlet: 1 unspecified 2 on silk 1 friezed Cadiz cloth 1 short-napped |
2 gray-white
- 2 gray 1 brown 1 coffee-coloured 3 blue 3 black |
o
DOCUMENTATION:
o
o
1713-1745: 16
fabrics and 6 colours specified
o
1748-1758: 14
fabrics and 12 colours specified
o
1713-1758:30
fabrics and 18 coleurs specified
o
o Ornamentation also contributed to the quality of a
suit. Buttons could be flat, cloth-covered or simply of an ordinary metal-like
copper or tin. But sometimes gold or silver buttons were chosen, or the suit
was decorated with braids, fringes or variously embroidered ribbons. Louisbourg
inventory of 1750 listed a "blue camlet suit with buttons of gold thread
and with a white taffeta lining, a blue vest with a gold braid and a white silk
lining" and a pair of blue breeches. [68] It belonged to a boat captain and
was worth 120 livres, though at the time it was "somewhat
used'". The high price itself suggests why this sort of suit was a rare
thing in Louisbourg.
o Other suits were so splendid as to make them a true
luxury item. "The most beautiful ... are the embroidered suits, of silk,
with golden or silver flowers, or of golden cloth, etc." [69] These were
almost non-existant at Louisbourg, except in exceptional cases. The governor,
whose situation was clearly unique, owned one of these suits, valued at 333 livres in
1744. [70] The three pieces were not of the same material, but were designed to
be matched: the coat was "cinnamon, braided with gold, lined with crimson
silk" and the vest was "Naples cloth (gros de Naple) the
colour of fire, also gold braided and lined with white silk ...and breeches of
the same material".
o 4. VARIOUS TYPES OF COMBINATIONS
o Up to this point, we have considered suits as designed
by the tailor in their most classical form. Most often these were three pieces
of the same material. We might call "street clothes" (habits de
ville) those that were of sombre colour, while others, much more rare and
luxurious, were reserved for more sophisticated occasions.
o It is wrong, however, to assume that all those wearing
suits looked the same. Although style was more conformist at that time than in
the 20th century, one was allowed to make variations within certain limits.
Except for a few details, the model remained the same, but one could combine
different materials, colours or garments. Several examples will show this
variety. Rather than giving the complete list, which would mean repetition and
a confused picture, or on the other hand giving only a general outline, we have
chosen to use a selection of valuable examples. Two criteria have guided the choices:
we have used citations which both serve as representatives of the whole and
offer precise details. They are listed by the different possible combinations
and may be a useful guide for costume reproduction.
o
The Louisbourg Institute of / L' Institut de
Louisbourg de Cape Breton University ~ © 1995-present ~ Louisbourg.info@pc.gc.ca
A Research Site for the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada operated by the Louisbourg Institute ~
Un site de recherche du lieu historique national du Canada de la Forteresse-de-Louisbourg géré par l'Institut de Louisbourg
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A Research Site for the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada operated by the Louisbourg Institute ~
Un site de recherche du lieu historique national du Canada de la Forteresse-de-Louisbourg géré par l'Institut de Louisbourg
Report/Rapport © Parks Canada / Parcs Canada --- Report Assembly/Rapport de l'assemblée © Krause House Info-Research Solutions
o
CIVIL COSTUME AT LOUISBOURG: 1713 - 1758
MEN'S COSTUME
MEN'S COSTUME
o
BY
o
MONIQUE LA GRENADE
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