Vintage British-Made Men's Waistcoats and Vests — Voted by the Community

The waistcoat has been part of British menswear since the seventeenth century. In October 1666 Charles II announced a new fashion for his court: a long vest worn under a coat, which Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary on 8 October as a way to teach the nobility thrift. The new garment took the place of the doublet, and the coat, waistcoat and breeches that followed are often seen as the forerunner of the three-piece suit. Over the eighteenth century the waistcoat grew shorter. By the 1780s most had lost their skirts and were cut straight at the hem, and by the end of the century they reached only to the waist, were often sleeveless and had larger collars and lapels. In the nineteenth century the waistcoat became a standard part of men's dress, worn with the frock coat, the morning coat and later the lounge suit. London tailors varied its cut, collar, pockets and cloth as fashions changed, and British mills supplied the wool for it. British-made waistcoats today continue this tradition for formal and everyday wear.