Regency Fashion: Men’s Dress Coats and Pantaloons

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COATS THESE are generally considered the sine qua non of dress a good coat or rather coatee as it is now more properly called lappels not being worn diffusing the halo of its splen dour over the rest of the person and making the trousers and waistcoat however faded par ticipate in its holiday newness And this it most certainly does to a certain extent as it is with out doubt by far the most important in com parison with the rest of the dress both as regards expense and difficulty of make In fact the greatest care and attention should be bestowed in giving directions in this most consequential feature of male attire as the appearance of the neck shoulders chest and waist nay the whole person itself depends exclusively upon its make As there never should be a wrinkle observa ble in a coat there is a very excellent plan I most earnestly recommend to the attention of the reader to ensure the most perfect fit pos sible I myself have followed it with the greatest success When you have or can get a coat to fit you without at all creasing which may easily be done by having each successive coat made without the faults of its predecessor have all the others cut precisely by it with the excep tion of the prevailing fashion Though there may be found occasion to alter or vary the collar or tail from this pattern the body of it the chief requisite will never require any alter ing whatever By these means it is in the power of every one to ensure the most admirable fit and it also cannot but give greater confi dence in giving the cloth out to make to a stranger workman when you know he has an exact pattern to go by The three chief beauties requisite in the ap pearance of a coat in the present day consist in colour gloss and make The former should be invariably dark as black blue dark browns and greens except indeed in the heat of sum mer when a very light brown is worn which on account of its not displaying the dust that accumulates looks very well Gilt buttons are only worn with blue The gloss of a coat though it be very handsome and the har binger of newness should never be too satiny if I may be allowed the term in the first place it is perhaps taken for or at least reminds one of the stuff shopmen's coats are composed of in the next it is always unserviceable as it spots with the rain and last not least the best cloths are never remarkable for this quali fication With regard to that essential the cut a coat should always sit easy and close to the shoulders and close in at the back the skirts hanging smoothly without the slightest crum ple By the way a word in the ear of the Exquisite a small roll of lead weighing about two ounces sewed in the interior of each pocket greatly facilitates this and likewise from the gentle stress improves the sit in the back The front of a dress coat should be so made that the chest should look very broad and pro minent The present fashion is for the sides to be extended back and look like a continuation of the collar which should be wide and sloping so as nearly to obscure the sight of the buttons These should be of silk plain and very small A dress coat should never be made to button It should if any thing be even too small to meet across the waist and chest so that it may sit open and display the waistcoat shirt and cravat to the utmost advantage Black and blue are the only full dress colours night will not allow a dark green to be discriminated from them Surtout coats which are almost all made double breasted are nearly the only or at least the chief undress wear of fashionables westward and eastward The attention should be most directed in the make of these which I think only look well buttoned up close to the throat to the sit of the skirts which should be made proportionably full to the closeness of the fit round the waist This kind of coat should always to look well be rather thickly and tastefully padded in front A velvet collar too is becoming Black blue and olive are I think nearly the only colours worn A small fly as it is called is a very excellent invention in these coats as it enables you to pull the waist into a very small dimension without fear of bursting the button holes which are entirely relieved from pressure by it In buttoning up however the last button should never be used It makes the coat sit more out at the hips PANTALOONS Perhaps indeed there is no portion of dress that of late years has claimed more attention from the bloods of fashion than trousers or pan taloons Whether it be considered that the lamentable deficiency too frequently perceptible tible in their understandings claims extra notice I know not but so it is that the shape of the trousers seems as indispensable as that of the coat now But still the fashions as may be remarked are various tight kneed and full being worn almost indiscriminately The make too has undergone a general change the trou sers buttoning down the front have rendered nugatory the use of flaps Though this cer tainly I think an improvement the fashion is by no means new but only an old one revived The fashion of raised seams down the side seems now almost generally discarded this with the large fall which accompanies the make of trousers small legged or full are copied de cidedly with many other etcæteras from the army who considering the long peace have certainly been very popular in dress Nothing can more improve the look and fit of trousers than double straps these with very full cossack trowsers are more indispensably requisite when the legs are particularly crooked or ill formed The appearance of stature too is immensely affected by pantaloons but of this I purpose speaking under a different head Regarding tight pantaloons in full dress though certainly the most proper and becoming in every point of view yet I would by no means advise any of my readers to assume these with out they have at least tolerably good legs Un less indeed they particularly choose to have recourse to art to supply the defects of a crooked or a thin leg in which cases a slight degree of stuffing is absolutely requisite but the greatest care and circumspection should be used The finest double milled black kersey mere should compose them Names and Addresses of Woollen Drapers Wm Bourne and Co 59 Coleman street and 48 Regent street Wm Carpenter 37 Leadenhall street

Above is a plate and description from The whole art of dress! or, The road to elegance and fashion, at the enormous saving of thirty per cent!!! By a cavalry officer. (1830). United Kingdom: Effingham Wilson.

We have featured this guidebook’s insights into schools here: Regency Fashion: Men’s Footwear – Regency Reader

We have shared two series on men’s fashion, including a look at cravats and hats.

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