Is a Close-Fitting Sleeveless Garment Originally Designe
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69134-ECF-W_409-450.qxd 8/24/2004 6:20 AM Page 409 W WAFFLE-WEAVE. See Weave, Jacquard. Double-breasted waistcoats were the most popular style during the first few decades of the eighteenth cen- tury and featured small pockets with flaps. By the mid- dle of the century, rather than following the older style WAISTCOAT The waistcoat, or vest (as it is known of having cuff-length sleeves, the majority of waistcoats in the United States), is a close-fitting sleeveless garment were sleeveless; skirts were much shorter and by 1790 originally designed for men that buttons (or occasionally were cut square to the waist. Toward 1800, decorated zips) down the front to the waist. Produced in either sin- single-breasted waistcoats with small lapels became fash- gle or double-breasted styles, the waistcoat is designed to ionable; fabrics with horizontal or vertical stripes were be worn underneath a suit or jacket, although it does not particularly favored, especially if the waistcoat was fin- necessarily have to match. Similar garments are worn by ished with a silk trim. women. By 1800, the waistcoat had become an increasingly decorative and flamboyant addition to the male wardrobe. History Through various style trends at the time, the overriding Originating in Persia, waistcoats first became fashionable principle was that as long as a waistcoat was highly con- in the middle of the seventeenth century. The new style spicuous, ostentatious, and embroidered, it was deemed was noticed by Samuel Pepys in 1666: “The King hath fashionable. Single-breasted, double-breasted, waist- … declared his resolution of setting a fashion for clothes length, square-cut, roll-collared, low stand-collared and which he will never alter,” he wrote in his diary. “It will flap-pocketed styles all were worn. Dandies at the time be a vest.” even took to wearing two waistcoats at once. One would King Charles II was persuaded that, after the Great be as elaborate as the other, with the upper unbuttoned Plague and the Great Fire of London, a much more sober to show the one underneath. form of attire should be worn by gentlemen, particularly in view of the gross extravagance displayed in the French Generally speaking, after the mid-nineteenth cen- court at the time. The vest was a knee-length garment tury, waistcoats became much more sober. The majority that would follow the cut of the coat but would be much were produced to match the jackets or suits they would tighter in fit. It was designed to discourage the use of lav- be worn with, rather than being outward expressions of ish materials (such as lace) by covering much of the body originality and wealth. in plainer and cheaper material. By 1670, vests had be- come one of the most important European fashion trends The 1900s and Onward of the time, particularly among nobility who would soon Although the waistcoat was still deemed fashionable at forget the notion of sobriety in favor of opulence and ex- the beginning of the twentieth century, its popularity cessive decoration. soon began to wane. Rather than being worn as a show of wealth or decadence, the waistcoat was considered lit- 1700 to 1900 tle more than a functional item to house a pocket watch By 1700, many waistcoats became much shorter, with skirts or to finish off a formal evening wear outfit. With suits reaching above the knee, and few had collars or sleeves. becoming softer and men opting for the growing trend Waistcoat styles designed for sporting purposes did away of the wristwatch, the waistcoat was deemed less than es- with any skirt almost completely. As the waistcoat became sential for the male wardrobe. short it also became more and more cut away in a curve That is not to say that the waistcoat simply died. at the front to reveal the wearer’s breeches. Whereas elab- Many men continued to wear a knitted waistcoat in the orately embroidered waistcoats were fastened with hooks winter and a lighter version in the summer; however, it and eyes, the majority were fastened with buttons that was now seen as an item simply to accompany and har- would match those of the coat being worn. monize the rest of the outfit. 409 69134-ECF-W_409-450.qxd 8/24/2004 6:20 AM Page 410 WATCHES After World War II, few businessmen were wearing A Period of Decoration waistcoats to work, and right up to the Peacock Revolu- At the beginning of the eighteenth century, watches were tion in the 1960s, they had become all but extinct except still considered to be primarily decorative objects because with the more conservative dressers and those of an older of their poor functionality. Men who could afford them generation. The waistcoat began to revive among fash- typically wore pocket watches, which hung from a short ionable young men, however, who associated themselves chain and easily slipped into a waistcoat pocket. Women’s with style tribes such as Neo-Edwardians and Teddy boys. watches were traditionally more embellished and visibly The 1960s also saw the waistcoat move away from worn as a pendant or on a chatelaine. being a formal item when it was adopted by the hippies The century marked a period of rapid technical de- and incorporated as part of their ethnic-inspired or coun- velopment. Pioneered by organizations and guilds in trified look. The hippy version of the waistcoat still fol- Germany, France, England, and Switzerland, inventors lowed the contours of the body, but it tended to be longer introduced new types of springs, encasements, and bear- than the waistcoat of a business suit; some were knee- ings that allowed for better accuracy and performance length and featured heavy floral embroidery, fringing, under vacillating temperature and position. They also re- and patchwork; some were tie-dyed (a look that would placed the key-winding watch with self-winding move- be recreated for the spring/summer 1993 collection by ment. Some English and Swiss watchmakers, who utilized Dolce & Gabbana). jeweled bearings and newer escapements to control the In the early twenty-first century, the waistcoat is sel- rate of wheel movement, were able to equip watches with dom worn, except by businessmen trying to show some a minute hand, which until then was impossible. form of individuality or personality with a suit. Among These advancements influenced the design and styl- conservative members of some professions, such as cor- istic components of watches, which became much smaller porate law and banking, a three-piece suit (i.e., trousers, and slimmer. Greater attention was also paid to the pro- jacket, and matching waistcoat) is still regarded as the tection of the watch, as they became more useful. Cir- most appropriate business attire. But aside from design- cular or oval faces were encased on either the front or ers such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Dolce & Gabbana re- back, sometimes both, by a hinged cover. These covers, viving waistcoats for men during the 1980s and early made from brass, gold, or silver, often displayed intricate 1990s, they are now more likely to be worn as novelty engravings or enamels of pastoral scenes, portraits, or items than to be part of a classic tailored look. other related designs. Fob watches, which were attached on a short chain or ribbon and often held other gold See also Dandyism; Jacket; Trousers; Uniforms, Occupa- tional. charms, became popular around this time as well. Al- though watches still lacked the accuracy they had in later years, they sometimes had calendar, moon phase, or BIBLIOGRAPHY alarm functions. Amies, Hardy. A, B, C’s of Men’s Fashion. London: Cahill & Company Ltd., 1964. Byrde, Penelope. The Male Image: Men’s Fashion in England Advancements in Accuracy and Production 1300–1970. London: B. T. Batsford, Ltd., 1979. As innovations in springs and bearings continued, watches became more accurate. Watchmakers now tried Chenoune, Farid. A History of Men’s Fashion. Paris: Flammar- ion, 1993. to make very complicated pocket and pendant watches incorporating calendars, timers, dual time zones, and De Marley, Diana. Fashion For Men: An Illustrated History. Lon- don: B. T. Batsford, Ltd., 1985. moon phases. As such, dials became larger and the watches heavier. Keers, Paul. A Gentleman’s Wardrobe. London: Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1987. The development of mass-production practices and Roetzel, Bernhard. Gentleman: A Timeless Fashion. Cologne, interchangeable parts made it possible to produce Germany: Konemann, 1999. watches by machine and in volume. These practices made Schoeffler, O. E., and William Gale. Esquire’s Encyclopedia of watches significantly less expensive. In 1892 Timex (then 20th Century Men’s Fashions. New York: McGraw-Hill, called Waterbury Watch Company) and Ingersoll intro- 1973. duced the Dollar or “Yankee” watch that eponymously expanded the ownership of watches. Although decorative, Tom Greatrex luxury watches were still popular for women during this period, the functionality and usefulness of the watch in- creasingly became the focal point of fashionability. WATCHES Watches are portable timepieces, used to measure time and intervals. Historically, watches were Wristwatches and Alternative Power Sources worn as decorative pendants or carried in the pocket. In There is evidence that watches adjusted for the wrist ex- modern times, they are branded accessories most fre- isted in the late 1500s in special creations for royalty, yet quently worn on the wrist. wristwatches were not used in large numbers until the 410 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CLOTHING AND FASHION 69134-ECF-W_409-450.qxd 8/24/2004 6:20 AM Page 411 WEARABLE ART early twentieth century. The first designs were military companies have positioned themselves to appeal to cer- in nature—they were introduced as chronographs offer- tain segments of the consumer market.