A Suit of Green Linen Trimmed with a Brown Linen Braid

M. Alison Kannon

Rosalind Delamere

The suit, consisting of a doublet and breeches, was without a doubt the most popular male garment in England at the end of the Sixteenth Century. Its popularity was so great that it is nearly impossible to find examples of the every-day man wearing anything else. The doublet generally had wide shoulder seams and two backset side seams. (Waugh, p.14) The collar generally seems to have been made in one of two ways. In the first way, the collar is cut as one separate piece. In the second way the back portion of the collar is cut as part of the back piece and the two front pieces of the collar are cut separately. Doublets also had sleeves which were either attached with points, sew onto the shoulder of the doublet, or sewn into the full arm of the doublet. They also often, but not always, had shoulder wings which were generally used to hide points in the shoulder and tabs at the waist which helped to hid the points that attached the waist of the breeches to the waist of the doublet. Finally, doublets were often fastened closed with either hooks and eyes or buttons. (Boucher, p.253; Arnold, p.54, 57, 70-71, 73, 7484-85) Although many continental pant styles were widely popular in England, the “square based trunk hose worn with canions” and the venetians appear to appear to have been the most popular. (Waugh, p.15)

I chose to make my suit out of green linen. I chose this material because it would have been available in period. I patterned the doublet off of a doublet in the Hessisches Landsesmuseum’s collection which is pictured in Janet Arnold Pattern’s of Fashion and lined it with a white linen/cotton blend (Arnold, p.84-85). I made the belly piece out of two layers of fustian covered with one layer of wool felt. A lightweight wine colored wool was stitched over the shoulders of the doublet similarly to the way the original was done. The collar was interlined with one layer of fustian to stiffen it. The shoulder wings were made out of rectangular pieces of material. The collar was made as a separate piece, as was done in the original garment, and the fitted sleeves of the doublet were stitched at the top of the shoulder to the doublet itself rather than using a lacing strip. The venetians were partially patterned off of a pair in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum’s collection, which are pictured in Janet Arnold’s Pattern’s of Fashion (Arnold, p.86-87). This patterned was adapted to remove the pocket and allow for a fuller leg so that the breeches would closer resemble those pictured in Figure 4. The final patter was very similar to that of the pants shown in Figure 5. I did not make a lacing strip or a strip of hooks and eyes for either the doublet or the pants, which the original garments had. I chose to omit these strips for the comfort of the wearer.

The doublet was trimmed with hand woven finger loop braid made from chocolate brown linen and was fastened closed with hooks and eyes. I made the braid using the directions for the 5-loop braid given in Medieval Finds in Excavations in London: Textiles and Clothing c.1150-c.1450. (Crowfoot, p.139) The venetians were not trimmed with braid, but were fastened with hand cast pewter buttons. The seems of the doublet were topstitched by hand. Topstitching was a finishing technique used in period to add strength to seams and to keep them looking flat and "pressed" in a world were garments were not laundered as ours are today.

Figure 1: Unknown gentleman wearing a satin doublet and breeches. c1600 (Arnold, p.23)

Figure 2: A hunter wearing a striped silk doublet and venetians. These venetians are cut to fit to the knee. c1560 (Arnold, p.19)

Figure 3: An example of fitted venetians similar to those worn in Fig 1. Note that these breeches do have a button fly. c1615-20 (Arnold p.86-87)

Figure 4: Two fencers wearing padded leather doublets and venetian breeches. Note that these venetians are much fuller than the previous examples. c1611 (Arnold, p.25)

Figure 5: Diagram of a black damask doublet and venetian breeches in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.. These venetians, constructed similarly to those in Fig 4, are gathered into a waistband at the top and into two narrow leg bands. The legs are open from X to Y. These venetians also have a button fly. c1630 (Waugh, p22)

Figure 6: Tennis Player wearing a doublet and venetians. c1580 (Boucher, p.233)

Figure 7: Portrait of Eric Sture wearing the suit he was later murdered in. The suit is trimmed with a yellow braid. c1567 (Arnold, p.17)

Figure 8: Braid used to trim the sleeve of the doublet owned by Eric Sture in Figure 7. c1567 (Arnold, p.17)

References

Waugh, Norah. The Cut of Men’s Clothes 1600-1900. Routledge, Theater Arts Books. New York. 1964

Arnold, Janet. Patterns of Fashion: The cut and construction of clothes for men and women c1560-1620. Macmillian. London, England. 1985

Boucher, Francois. 20,000 Years of Fashion: The History of Costume and Personal Adornment. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers. New York. 1987

Crowfoot, Elisabeth et al. Medieval Finds in Excavations in London: 4 Textiles and Clothing c.1150-c.1450. The Boydell Press. Woodbridge, England. 1992.

Arnold, Janet. Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd. W.S Maney & Son's LTD. Leeds, England. 1988.