Underwaistcoats

[33rdfoot]

Greetings all!
I tried searching around, but couldn't find anything on the forums, so I'll go ahead and ask: does anyone have evidence of underwaistcoats/vests being worn by civilians or soldiers during the Civil War?
I know in the 18th century, underwaistcoats are common and sometimes issued to soldiers, but would like to know if they were still around in the 1860's and what they might have looked like.
Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks!
Scott Douglas

[Garrett Silliman]

Re: Underwaistcoats

I am not familiar with the term "underwaistcoat" as opposed to a waistcoat or vest, but here are some threads that have discussed the topic of vests as military items

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1689&highlight=vest

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=418&highlight=vest

Good luck,

[Ian McWherter]

Re: Underwaistcoats

"Under-waistcoats" for those who aren't familiar with them are thinner un-padded vests worn underneath your normal vest. The fashion was for them to be made of a contrasting silk, they lacked any pockets since you couldn't see them and since most of the vest couldn't be seen the only part that would be made of expensive silk was the collar (this is true even on the under-vests of the very wealthy), the rest of the vest would be made from plain cotton or linen. The height of this fashion was in the 1820s when a fashionable man might wear as many as two to three under-vests(waistcoats) below his normal vest building up that hour glass shape, he would have also worn stays to cinch in his waist. By the 1840s under-vests were being largely relegated to formal evening wear and only one under-vest would be worn, by the 1850s the only time you'd see a man wearing an under-vest would have been for strictly formal occasions and by the 1860s they were even disappearing for formal wear (along with M-notch collars on dress coats I might add).

So the answer would be no, you wouldn't see a citizen let alone a soldier wearing an under-vest in the 1860s for daytime wear. This would be a great fashion accessory for anyone attempting an 1810s-30s impression.

An original example dated 1820-1840 from the Tasha Tudor Collection:

[Garrett Silliman]

Re: Underwaistcoats

Great info Ian. You could fill a book with what I don't know about civilian clothing.

[Andrew Kasmar]

Re: Underwaistcoats

Hi,

That is very interesting Mr. McWherter, thanks for the information.