fashionsfromhistory:Ensemble 1790sFrance This young man’s tailcoat, with its high turned-

fashionsfromhistory:

Ensemble 

1790s

France

This young man’s tailcoat, with its high turned-down collar, narrow back, and wide lapels, exemplifies the exaggerated silhouette fashionable in post-revolutionary France. Striped textiles, modish from the 1760s, were ubiquitous in the dress of both sexes by the end of the century. In menswear, stripes served as a decorative substitute for the ornate, polychrome embroidery of earlier suits. The trend reflects the influence of the Islamic world and neoclassical taste; in earlier centuries, stripes had pejorative connotations in the West and were associated with the clothing of socially marginalized groups.

The MET (Accession Number: 1999.105.2)