Figure 1.--This naive American portrait from the mid-19th centuries shows a main wearing a vest contrasting with his jacket. Also notice the very different hats.

Vests have been widely worn by men and boys since at least the 18th century. The vest was initially part of a suit. Most suits were worn with vests through the late-19th century. By the early 20th century, suits were vest became less common. By the late 20th century only the most formal suits came with vests. The vest was in he 19th century mostly worn with the suit jacket. A new fashion for boys of wearing the vest without the jacket developed in the 1950s. This was primarily a winter fashion. Interestingly in the late 20th century, the vest worn without a suit became a kind of dressy summer fashion.

Terminology

A vest is largely ornamental sleeveless garment worn either without without a suit jacket. The British refer to the garment as a "waistcoat", the word "vest" meaning an undershirt. Vest is also used to mean an undershirt in the United States, but less commonly. Usually Americans use vest to meant waistcoat. A HBC reader suggests that there differences between a vest and waistcoat (pronounced "weskit"), in that there are lapels on a waistcoat and none on vest. HBC has not yet had time to research this.

Chronology

We are beginning to build a chronology of vests. HBC has noted the vest in the 18th century, I'm not sure just went it first appeared are what garment it may have evolved from. Vests have been widely worn by men and boys since at least the 18th century. The vest was initially part of a suit. Vests were very common with suits in the 19th century. Suits were worn with vests through the late 19th century. There were significant changes in the color of the vests worn as the century progressed. Suits in the early 19th century varied widely. There was still no mass production of clothes, leading to greater variety of styles. Suits and vests were still widely worn in the early 20th century, but after World War I declined in popularity. They were worn with very formal suits, but most boys' suits were two-piece rathr tham three pice by the 195os. The garment has continued into the 21st century, although the popularity has come and wained over time. The modern vest is primarikly a boy;s garment to be worn rather than a suit jacket rather than with it.

Figure 2.--These American boys probably in the 1920s at their First Communion/Confirmation are wearing knicker suits. One boy is wearing a vest. Notice the patterned kneesocks, earlier boys would have worn dark long stockings for such a formal occasion.

Suits

The vest or waistcoat was a common part of many 19th century suits, especially in themid and late 19th century. (The British use waistcoat as a vest there means an undershirt.) Most fashionable suits had them. There were even common with boys wearing kiltsuit. We have noted them both made in the same material as the suit or in contradting material and colors. The three piece suit as it was called continued to be worn in the 20th century, but by the 1930s it began to be seen as a particularly formal style and was optional. Thus many boys' suits wre made with just the jacket and pants. In the post-World War II era, many mothers decided that a boy just did not need a vest. They are still available for particularly formal occasions, but are rarely worn with a suit. We do note that in the 1970s and 80s, it became fassionable for younger to boys to wrar vests rather than a suit coat for formal occassions.

Styling

Unlike suit jackets and trousers, vests have remained generally constant over time in the 19th and 20th centuries. The major changes in styling over time has been the number of buttons. At first there were no conventions about buttons and the size of the boy was another factor. Vests were made with front "V" cuts without lapels. This like the cut off the suit allowed a necktie or other neck adornment to show. Vests we have seen in the 20th century had front which were made to match the suit, being made in the same material. The backs were done in a different material, often silk or satin. Other materials might be used with less expensive suits. We are not sure if this was also the case in the 19th century. We note vests with belts at the back so the fit of the vest could be ajusted. We think this was quite common, but again are unsure about the 19th century.

Conventions

The vest was in he 19th century mostly worn with the suit jacket. A new fashion for boys of wearing the vest without the jacket developed in the 1950s. This was primarily a winter fashion. Some discount stores like K-Mart began selling inexpemnsive trouser and vest sets to provide a dressy out fit for boys. This was a destinctly boys' style. Men did not commonly wear a vest and trouser set. Sometimes they were fancy vests added a bit of a festive air to a holiday celebration. The modern convention is for younger boys to wear a vest for dressing up without a suit jacket. Adults generally wear it with a suit jacket. A three-piece suit jacket commonly has a vest in the same material. Brightly colored vests can be worn for holidays or special occassions. Brightly colored vests were once worn by Eton and other British schoolboys.

Color and Material

The front of a typical vest is made out of the same material as the suit jacket. The back is commonly made out of satin or some other finished material. It was fashionable in the mid-19th century to make the vests in contasting colors and patterns. They might also be made in different materials. An example is an unidntified American boy about 1850. Not all vests were done like that. Even at mid-century we see vests done in the same material as the jacket. A good example is an unidentified American boy about 1850. By the end of the century the more consevative approach of the same material and color became the standard. During the Christmas holiday season, especilly by the mid-20th century, a vest in a festive contrasting color might be worn.

Country Trends

We have not yet acquired enough information about vests to understand individual country trends. We believe that it was very common throughtout Europe to wears vests in the 19thcentury, perhaps somewhat less common in southern Europe because it was warmer. We have begun to build some individual country pages, such as the German vest page. Vests were also common in America. We note an unidentified American boy wearing a colorful plaid vest in 1847. We note another American boy with a plain vest about the same time. We note unidentfied boys wearing vests in short jackets about 1850. By the late-19th century the vests more commonly matched the suit. A good example is Frank Baily about 1915.

Vintage Clothes

We are building an archive of vintage clothes. It is often possible to make out details as to material and consruction elements that are not readily apparent in portrais and snapshots. In particulasr we can see color in vintage clothing. As this time we have only one vintage wool vest archived. It was from the turn-of-the-20th-century.