#alterations

Silk satin & linen waistcoat. Early 19th century according to Kerry Taylor Auctions, but to me it looks much more 1780's. That closely spaced double breasted look is a very 80's style, and in the 1790's the 2 rows of buttons get much further apart.

The slanted collar and lack of big lapels do give it a somewhat early 19th century look, but I suspect this is altered from a longer waistcoat of at least a few decades earlier. The way the front edge curves just looks "off" for this later style, and the buttonholes appear to be the earlier style that are long and only partially opened, so you can have small buttons and a long decorative buttonhole. Very clever to just sew another row of buttons onto the ends to update the look!

Also you'll notice in the last picture that the linen thread used to whip the lining down around the buttonholes is the same weight as the stuff used to sew on the buttons, but a totally different colour! The fact that the button threads are visible at all is another strong point in favour of it being altered, since the typical 18th century construction involves sewing the buttonholes and attaching the buttons before the lining is added, and we can see from the backs of the buttonholes that those were done in that order.

Sophia Loren trying on a dress designed by "tailor of the stars", Italian fashion designer Emilio Schuberth, in his studio, 1955.

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05.04.26

Alright these are terrible photos, it's hard to hold together with one hand all the pieces that are unfinished and take a selfie lol. But this is what I have for the look so far. I also want to square the neckline, and I'm wondering if I should add a bustle skirt to the back of the dress as well? I'm going to have jewelry and makeup of course, and my Steve Madden boots lol. What do we think??

The original dress again, for comparison:

Thank you!

Hello! Ooh yay! Not enough people do early 18th century, so I'm delighted to hear that! (Link to the 1730's suit mentioned.)

I think the fit would be affected, yeah. The sides of the waistcoat are easy enough to let out (and we have extant examples of waistcoats with an extra strip of fabric added into the side seam) but the curve of the front is pretty important to how it sits on you. But then, it is fashionable in that era to leave quite a lot of the top portion unbuttoned, so maaaybe you could get away with it not fitting as well, depending on what changed and how much?

Regarding the adjustability of waistcoats, some of the earlier ones actually do have lacing in the back! This red one is an especially nice example, and it's separate all the way to the top.

(c. 1740's, V&A) (Though you also do see ones with the back hacked up and a bunch of ties that were likely added by Victorians for their fancy dress parties.)

The breeches also have adjustable waistbands, of course, so I think the hardest part to alter would be the coat. The back vent is edge to edge, so there's no overlap to sneak a bit more width out of, and letting out the side seams would require re-doing those massive pleats, which were the part I found the most difficult when making my coat. But fortunately those coats were worn open a lot of the time, so even if they're not quite right when buttoned, they should still look ok unbuttoned.

It's very difficult to predict how the fit will be affected, since HRT is different for everyone and things keep changing years down the line. (One comment on this post talks about suddenly getting more breast and hip growth after 7, 12, and 14 years.)

I only have experience from the transmasc side of things, and alas, I very much did outgrow all my old waistcoats and coats. My 1730's suit needs alterations, because the waistcoat is a bit too small, and the coat seams could use a bit of letting out too. (I made those the year after top surgery, but my ribcage kept expanding and my posture improving for quite a while.)

I've been putting it off because alterations are boring :/ My pre-top surgery waistcoats are all way too small across the chest even though material was removed, because my posture was kinda bad and I didn't even notice it, and I expect that the opposite could also lead to the same sort of better posture from more confidence & comfort.

But bodies keep changing forever anyways, even without transitioning. Plenty of cis people can't fit into the things they sewed when they were younger, so we may as well make things to fit us now. Perhaps you could make the suit now, but use a not-too-expensive fabric, and then maybe alter it later, or make a newer and better one with the experience you gained from the first one!

Also I know you specifically said menswear suit, but I want to add the fun fact that women's riding habits in this era looked extremely similar to men's suits!

(Left: Maria Amalia von Habsburg by Franz Joseph Winter, right: Member of the Van der Mersch Family by Cornelis Troost.)

As far as I can tell, the main differences are that the riding habits have a petticoat instead of breeches, and are made to fit over stays.

(Empress Elisabeth Christine in riding costume, unknown artist.)

So similar, in fact, that this portrait of a young lady in a riding habit was misidentified as a young man!

Most of the petticoat is out of frame, but you can still see that it's not beeches, and the stays shape is pretty obvious. Very silly of Sotheby's not to notice!