1890s Tailored Jacket

   This garment was really fun to work with. It was one of my first vintage garments to examine in detail and document. 

  This beautiful garment is a short tailored jacket from the late 1890s. It is only a single piece. This jacket is navy blue and has braided decorations on the bottom of the sleeve that form into a circle. 

  Attached on the inside of the jacket there is a blouse section that has many pleats in the front. 

  The garment also has a high covering collar. The collar has burlap underneath the satin, as well as under the wool of the lapels. In addition, there are waist ties on the inside of the jacket. The sleeves are slightly large. 

  This garment is made of wool with a herringbone fiber weave. The lining of the jacket is cotton with a chintz weave. The blouse portion of the garment is silk with a satin weave.

  Whoever would have worn this delightful jacket would have had to deal with many forms of interesting closures.  There are 3 metal hooks on the inside of the right side blouse section. There are also 12 metal hooks on the right side and 12 eyes on the left. There are two metal hooks and eyes on the back of the collar. Also there are three thread loops for the three hooks on the wool to hook into.

  The bust of the jacket is 36 while the waist is 34; There is enough room for this to fit well over the small figures of the women during this time. Another blouse could have been worn throughout the day and this would have gone right over, while still maintaining a well put together appearance. 

  There is also a lot of trim involved with this garment. There are silver soutache braided trim at the bottom of both sleeves in a circle. It also is featured along the inside and the outside of the lapels. 

  The garment has faired decently well throughout time. The wool has held up well, although there are several holes in the back of the garment near the bottom. The inside lining is in good condition. The satin of the blouse section has not faired as well as the rest of the garment. The fabric is deteriorating and must be handled with extreme care due to its fragility.