Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A waistcoat, called a vest in Canada and the US, usually refers to the third piece of a three-piece male business suit. It is a sleeveless garment which buttons in the front and is cut from the same material as the rest of the suit, single-breasted or double-breasted, worn above a dress shirt and necktie and beneath the suit coat. The term derives from the fact that the coat is cut at waist level, since when it was coined, men's suit coats were cut well below the waist.
A waistcoat is a sleeveless garment which buttons in the front and is cut from the same material as the rest of the suit. It can be either single-breasted or double-breasted. It is worn above a dress shirt and necktie and beneath the suit coat. The term "waistcoat" derives from the fact that the coat is cut at waist level, since when it was coined, men's suit coats were cut well below the waist (see frock coat or morning coat). Before the popularization of wristwatches, a gentleman would keep his pocketwatch in the front pocket of his waistcoat, attached to one of the buttons with a watch chain and fob. It is considered bad form to wear a belt with a waistcoat; instead, one should wear suspenders (braces in the United Kingdom) underneath it.
The waistcoat is one of the few pieces of clothing whose origin can be precisely dated. King Charles II of Great Britain introduced the waistcoat as a part of correct dress during the Restoration of the British monarchy. Samuel Pepys, the diarist and civil servant, wrote in October 1666 that "the King hath yesterday in council declared his resolution of setting a fashion for clothes which he will never alter. It will be a vest, I know not well how". This royal decree is the first time a waistcoat is mentioned (originally referred to as a "vest", the American usage being the original one). During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, waistcoats were often incredibly elaborate and brightly-colored, even garish, until fashion dictated in the late nineteenth century that waistcoats be the same color as the rest of a man's suit.
The waistcoat was a required part of men's business clothing, and even casual dress, until the mid-twentieth century. Part of its popularity stemmed from the fact that it added an extra layer of warm cloth between one's body and the elements, but the strict rationing of cloth during the Second World War, the increasing popularity of pullover sweaters and other types of heavy tops, and the increasing casualness of men's clothing in general all contributed to its decline. Today, it is rare to see a business suit worn with a waistcoat in North America, although it is still popular among conservative-minded businessmen in the rest of the world. Some of the last professions where a waistcoat was de rigeur were banking, law, governmental agencies, and the professoriate, as a waistcoat typically added an element of maturity, stability, and gravitas to its wearer. Many people nowadays, however, regard them as stuffy and affectatious.
It used to be said that you could tell that a man was a 'real gentleman' if he left the lowest button on his waistcoat unbuttoned. This is said to be a result of the the habit of King Edward VII. While he was Prince of Wales, his balloning waistline caused him to leave the bottom button of his waistcoat undone. The story goes that his subjects took this as a style indicator and started doing it themselves.
Although waistcoats are no longer considered an essential part of a suit, they will always remain a correct part of business and formal attire for men.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/waistcoat). 8/5/05 |
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Almost no other garment can date its birth to a specific month. Charles II's October 1666 declaration, recorded by Pepys, introduced the vest as a deliberate act of fashion policy — a court uniform meant to end the churn of French-influenced styles. The idea worked beyond its author's century: the waistcoat became required male dress for nearly three hundred years, evolving from the long, skirted, brilliantly embroidered vest of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the sober, suit-matching waistcoat of the nineteenth, cut from the same cloth as coat and trousers.
Its accessories tell the story of pre-wristwatch life. The pocket watch lived in the waistcoat's front pocket, chained to a buttonhole with a chain and fob — the watch chain across the waistcoat front is the era's signature detail, and the pockets were sized for it. Etiquette gathered around the garment too: a belt was bad form with a waistcoat, braces being worn underneath instead.
The waistcoat's fall was overdetermined: wartime cloth rationing in the Second World War punished an extra garment, pullover sweaters offered warmth without formality, central heating removed the need for an extra layer, and men's dress grew steadily more casual. The three-piece suit retreated to conservative business, weddings and formal dressing, where the waistcoat survives today — still doing its old jobs of finishing a suit, smoothing the torso line and carrying a watch, now usually a decorative one.
A waistcoat is a sleeveless garment that buttons in the front, usually cut from the same material as the rest of a suit as the third piece of a three-piece suit. It is worn above a dress shirt and necktie and beneath the suit coat, and is called a vest in Canada and the US.
The term derives from the fact that the garment is cut at waist level, at a time when men's suit coats were cut well below the waist, as with the frock coat or morning coat.
King Charles II introduced the waistcoat as part of correct dress during the Restoration. Samuel Pepys wrote in October 1666 that the King had declared his resolution of setting a fashion for clothes which he would never alter — the first mention of the waistcoat, originally referred to as a vest.