The Two Nerdy History Girls Ride Again 2024-07-15, courtesy Meena Jain and the Ashland Public Library
Once again historical novelist Susan Holloway Scott and I had a great time talking nerdy history with our most excellent host/superior moderator, Meena Jain, Library Director of the Ashland Public Library, in Ashland, Massachusetts.
As always, the discussion ranged hither and yon, as we did our best to respond to questions from the audience. But we did devote some time to an unfamiliar-to-many-people garment, the under-waistcoat, as part of a discussion of men’s attire. Apparently, it’s not an easy garment to comprehend in this day and age. Even waistcoats, the regular variety, are not familiar garments to many people.
For those who have watched or will be watching the video and trying to picture the item, here are a couple of images. That red V in the men’s fashion print is the under-waistcoat. It’s a bit more obvious in the portrait, although the museum tells us he’s wearing two shirts. No. The style is different because the images are thirty years apart, and waistcoats changed, much as women’s fashions changed.
From The Dictionary of Fashion History: “A sleeveless waistcoat, shorter than the over-waistcoat but extending a little above its upper edge; the visible portion of rich fabric contrasting in colour with that of the overgarment. Most fashionable ca 1825-1840 when several under-waistcoats might be worn, * one above the other; in the 1840s its use was becoming restricted to evening wear, ceasing to be fashionable after ca. 1850.” It’s revived later in the century under a different name, but let’s not add to the confusion with alternate names.
We touched on other topics, but I’ll leave it to you to ask questions, if you have any, by heading over to my Contact page. Please be aware that during these chats we don’t know what questions to expect, and the answers aren’t always on the tip of our tongues. There were a couple I could have answered more intelligently with a little preparation or time to reflect. But that’s part of the fun: not knowing what’s going to come up.
The program is on YouTube on the Ashland Public Library’s channel. You can watch it by clicking here. Or you can look up the title, “The Two Nerdy History Girls Ride Again! 7.15.2024.” Or you can cut and paste this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9F-xqxxQqM
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Images: L-Saliceti, Cristoforo, by Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Wicar ca 1800, Chrysler Museum of Art. R-Fashion Plate 20 March 1833, French, © Victoria and Albert Museum.