Court suit

By the decade 1810 to 1820, men’s court dress was becoming more subdued in colour and decoration. Once made of a lavishly embroidered silk or velvet, court coats of this decade were a dark-coloured wool, much like fashionable day wear. The colourfully embellished waistcoat characteristic of 18th-century court dress remains, retaining its old-fashioned ‘skirts’ and pockets. Splendid cut-steel buttons are the only decoration on the coat. They were made of flat circles of polished steel decorated with faceted steel rivets, set to sparkle and reflect the light. These were a fashionable style of button in the late 18th century which continued to be worn with court dress well into the 1870s.