Red Faille Vest with Embroidered Buttonholes, ca. 1755, KSUM 1983.1.14


Front	Side	Back

Detail

Red Faille Vest with Embroidered Buttonholes
Unknown maker and place of origin, ca. 1755.
Silverman/Rodgers Collection
KSUM 1983.1.14

Also known as a waistcoat, this vest is made of silk in front and woolen cloth in back and has buttonholes embroidered with silver threads that also cover its buttons. The fact that linen was not used in the back is atypical, as is the identical coloring of the front and back. This might indicate that the dye used was cochineal, which was among the most highly prized red dyes but did not have good solidity on linen.