History of the waistcoat

**Thursday has traditionally become a day to look back at history, or as we’d say in Instagram jargon, #throwbackthursday. **

Today’s #TBT takes you back many centuries, featuring a piece of clothing that, thanks to its versatility, is insanely popular today – a must-have to update your style. And for good reason!

It’s the VEST. We didn’t invent it, but we owe a big thank you to England’s King Charles II (1630 – 1685). He introduced the waistcoat to the English court as part of the proper dress code of the time.

A civil servant named Samuel Pepys, who kept diaries at the court, wrote:

“”Yesterday, the King announced in council his resolution to set a fashion for clothes that he will never change! It’s a vest, which I don’t know if I like.”**

In essence, the King of England was trying to outdo the French King Louis XIV in style – a truly bold move.

Charles II borrowed the idea from the English traveler and adventurer Sir Robert Shirley (1581 – 1628), who in turn borrowed it from the Persian court of Shah Abbas the Great (1571 – 1629). Tracing it back this way, we can quickly see the origins of this fashionable piece.

At first, the waistcoat was longer, called a “coat waistcoat.” Later, fashion demanded a shorter cut at waist level, and it simply became a “waistcoat.”

As the eighteenth century progressed, the lower parts of the waistcoat became shorter and eventually disappeared. These waistcoats were reserved for the most formal occasions, court appearances, or high ceremonies. Woven entirely with metal threads, delicately made of the finest materials, with embroidery and buttons of very valuable materials, the waistcoat was a very expensive piece of clothing.

We move into the 20th century, to the 1970s, when women started wearing waistcoats as part of their work attire.

In the late 90s and early 2000s, the waistcoat became a fashion trend for women, worn for both formal and casual occasions.

Men discovered it centuries ago, women made it “theirs” only in the last century. The 3/4 VEST, with its unique style, deserves a central place in your autumn wardrobe.