This one-size waistcoat, based on an C18th agricultural labourer’s garment, comes with treasure found in the fields. A block print of an old clay pipe*, in Midnight blue, adorns the internal breast pocket - the real one was unearthed in Dorset. The waistcoat’s linen cinch back is fastened with an ancient bronze buckle, discovered in Somerset. Other details include: a period-style lapel, a ladder of antique buttons, two extra-wide front pockets and a block-printed maker’s label.
The garment’s front is constructed from a soft, medium weight wool herringbone. It comes with a hand-sewn patch (optional), which lends it a well-loved appearance. The waistcoat’s back panel is made from fine Irish linen.
The wool herringbone is a soft Brown, the linen a Straw colour.
This special garment is made entirely by the artist, Janet Tristram, at Bonfield in rural Dorset.
Pit to pit: 58cm Length: 64cm Shoulder to shoulder: 42cm Waist: 58cm (cinch back for fit)
*The pipe, its bowl the head of a striking, bonneted lady and inscribed with the word ‘Paris’, was found beneath the bank of a West Dorset field. Perhaps she was once owned by a well-travelled farmer or even a Gallic POW (it is said that many of the hedgerows in the Marshwood Vale were planted by captives of the Napoleonic Wars).
