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Coat Fashion HistoryVarious Cloak, Coat and Jacket TermsBy Pauline Weston Thomas for Fashion-Era.com |
Cloak, Coat and Jacket - Terms and Fashion HistoryVarious Cloak, Coat and Jacket TermsThis section began as a result of my verifying some cloaks and mantelets for a collector and seller of museum quality antique (100 year old) English clothing for ebay auctions. When faced with so much variety of style, it's understandable that the wide range of costume history terms that exist are often confusing to those seeking to describe vintage garments or make articles for a theatrical production. Regular visitors know this site deals only with female costume history, and in this section I'm going to look at simplifying ways of helping site visitors understand the differences between the wide range of terms used for female cover ups as either cloaks, coats or jackets and found especially in the 19th century in the Brutish Isles until 1970. Many of you will be familiar with more modern terms like poncho or gilet, but may not be able to find a single other person who knows what a mantelet with lappets is or the difference between a Chesterfield and an Ulster coat. Once terms like these go out of general use, it takes a designer using past costume as inspiration to revive them and put them back into general vocabulary. Quite similar terminology is often applied to them all, even though they may look quite different. However you only have to think that we might call a pair of trousers a variety of names from jeans, denims, levis, flares, bootlegs, pants, Oxford bags, joggers, cords, pedal pushers to leggings and you realise why it is so confusing to come across such unfamiliar terms as pelerine or mantelet today. Typical Coat TermsAnyone researching costume cover ups, coats and jackets will eventually come across some of these words. There are many more terms, but usually they relate to eras pre 1750 and include medieval terms for coats such as cote-hardie or ancient terms such as chlamys.
~ All the above are coats, jackets and cover ups, either short, long, heavy or light, sleeved or sleeveless. Sometimes the terms are used with freedom to describe the same item at other times there are distinct differences and these are explained further on. In the next few pages you will find an explanation of the various coat terms, plus as time permits more and more simplified silhouette line drawing I have made or other illustrations. For those dating vintage costume this will be especially useful. I've always thought that nothing beats a simple line drawing for understanding the elements of a fashion style and the subtle change in line that gradually occurs. There are also links throughout this section to glossary terms already sufficiently covered in other sections on the site. Next page looks at the difference between cloaks and capes.
For more information about coats and cloaks click below:- *
For superb Victorian or Edwardian
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Fashion-Era.com looks at women's costume and fashion history and analyses the mood of an era. Changes in technology, leisure, work, cultural and moral values. Homelife and politics also
contribute to lifestyle trends, which in turn influence the clothes we wear. These are the changes that make any era of society special in relation to the study of the costume of a period.
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