Late 19th century superb quality men's cotton shirt
It’s not often I know the exact provenance or the age of the pieces I find but in this case I do. This belonged to the head of a large mansion in the Loire Valley - I know because my old house was rented from the owner. This came from the linen cupboard, where it had been stored since around 1880. It was made for a very small but dapper gentleman with austere tastes and a great deal of money. The cotton in this is sublime, very fine and crisp, it is unlike any cotton available anywhere today, and will make you think about cotton in a different way once you touch it. It has been minutely hand-stitched, with delicate gathers at the back yoke and at the sleeves. The incredible amount of fine work that went into this is only apparent if you examine it closely - the buttonholes are a good example. It does up at the front with tiny chunky mother-of-pearl buttons at the front - the top button-hole would have used a collar stud, whilst the cuffs would have used cuff-links to fasten.
Despite being very minimally worn, this was stored in a cupboard for over a century, and the storage marks it accumulated in that time through oxidisation were pronounced. I have gently soaked and washed it twice but there are a few pale marks persisting around the collar with the most noticeable on the front left breast. The collar was left starched and fastened with a pin - this is how I found it, and that pin has left rust marks (never store fabric near metal). There are also a couple of dark marks on one of the sleeves. I have pictured these issues. Despite them, this remains a rare example of the superb cloth and tailoring available to people of means in the France of 100+ years ago.
It measures 53cm from armpit to armpit lying flat across the chest, the sleeves are 56cm from shoulder seam to cuff, it measures 41cm from shoulder seam to seam across the back of the neck. It is 86cm long at the front and 94cm long at the back.
Please click on the photos to open them up full-sized.
To purchase, please contact me.
It’s not often I know the exact provenance or the age of the pieces I find but in this case I do. This belonged to the head of a large mansion in the Loire Valley - I know because my old house was rented from the owner. This came from the linen cupboard, where it had been stored since around 1880. It was made for a very small but dapper gentleman with austere tastes and a great deal of money. The cotton in this is sublime, very fine and crisp, it is unlike any cotton available anywhere today, and will make you think about cotton in a different way once you touch it. It has been minutely hand-stitched, with delicate gathers at the back yoke and at the sleeves. The incredible amount of fine work that went into this is only apparent if you examine it closely - the buttonholes are a good example. It does up at the front with tiny chunky mother-of-pearl buttons at the front - the top button-hole would have used a collar stud, whilst the cuffs would have used cuff-links to fasten.
Despite being very minimally worn, this was stored in a cupboard for over a century, and the storage marks it accumulated in that time through oxidisation were pronounced. I have gently soaked and washed it twice but there are a few pale marks persisting around the collar with the most noticeable on the front left breast. The collar was left starched and fastened with a pin - this is how I found it, and that pin has left rust marks (never store fabric near metal). There are also a couple of dark marks on one of the sleeves. I have pictured these issues. Despite them, this remains a rare example of the superb cloth and tailoring available to people of means in the France of 100+ years ago.
It measures 53cm from armpit to armpit lying flat across the chest, the sleeves are 56cm from shoulder seam to cuff, it measures 41cm from shoulder seam to seam across the back of the neck. It is 86cm long at the front and 94cm long at the back.
Please click on the photos to open them up full-sized.
To purchase, please contact me.
It’s not often I know the exact provenance or the age of the pieces I find but in this case I do. This belonged to the head of a large mansion in the Loire Valley - I know because my old house was rented from the owner. This came from the linen cupboard, where it had been stored since around 1880. It was made for a very small but dapper gentleman with austere tastes and a great deal of money. The cotton in this is sublime, very fine and crisp, it is unlike any cotton available anywhere today, and will make you think about cotton in a different way once you touch it. It has been minutely hand-stitched, with delicate gathers at the back yoke and at the sleeves. The incredible amount of fine work that went into this is only apparent if you examine it closely - the buttonholes are a good example. It does up at the front with tiny chunky mother-of-pearl buttons at the front - the top button-hole would have used a collar stud, whilst the cuffs would have used cuff-links to fasten.
Despite being very minimally worn, this was stored in a cupboard for over a century, and the storage marks it accumulated in that time through oxidisation were pronounced. I have gently soaked and washed it twice but there are a few pale marks persisting around the collar with the most noticeable on the front left breast. The collar was left starched and fastened with a pin - this is how I found it, and that pin has left rust marks (never store fabric near metal). There are also a couple of dark marks on one of the sleeves. I have pictured these issues. Despite them, this remains a rare example of the superb cloth and tailoring available to people of means in the France of 100+ years ago.
It measures 53cm from armpit to armpit lying flat across the chest, the sleeves are 56cm from shoulder seam to cuff, it measures 41cm from shoulder seam to seam across the back of the neck. It is 86cm long at the front and 94cm long at the back.
Please click on the photos to open them up full-sized.
To purchase, please contact me.