Wedding waistcoat

From the 1830s through to the 1850s, the waistcoat was the most eye-catching article of a man’s attire. Made of brightly patterned silks and velvets, or richly embroidered in coloured silks, the waistcoat stood out against the sombre blues and blacks of the coat and the pale shades of trousers. This waistcoat was worn by Mr George Higgs (1826-1925) on the occasion of his wedding to Ann Smith Corderoy in London on 12 July 1853. The ceremony took place at the Brunswick Wesleyan Chapel in Dorset Square.