Women's Jacket - Caraco

This hip-length jacket is especially richly outfitted. It has a fitted back, short set tails and is manufactured from a brocaded cream-coloured silk. During its cutting, great value was placed on the careful, axis-symmetrical subdivision of the pattern. The jacket is slightly stiffened in the back with two whalebone stays and is fully lined. It takes motifs from men’s clothing, the short, bell-shaped folds in the skirts, for instance, recall the full heavy pleats of men’s coats and, like those, are fastened with an ornamental button. The two pocket flaps were also borrowed from men’s suits. The six buttons along the front cut-out are used for the lacing above the stomacher—reproduced for the exhibition. These are reminiscent of military uniforms. The small passementerie rim along the front edges and sleeve cuffs coordinates with the colour scheme of the green, cream and rose silk fabric. The wing cuffs ending en raquette speak of the earliest years of the jacket.