18th Century Women’s Jackets
This page includes pet-en-l’air and caraco and pierrot jackets. (These sections also feature links to artwork with women wearing these jackets, which is useful for understanding how and when these styles of jackets were worn.)
For less-fitted garments, see the shortgowns and bedgowns. The page on riding habits includes several jackets and coats.
Additional Resources
This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated
A Timeline of Women’s Jackets,
1550-1800
Patterns of Fashion 1: Englishwomen’s dresses and their construction, c. 1720-1860
Miscellaneous styles of 18th century women’s jackets
National Trust 1348743, damasked and brocaded silk, c. 1700-1725
The Sewing School by Giacomo Ceruti, 1720s
National Trust 1348745, a jacket made c. 1720-1780 from a French or English damask woven in 1711
Met 24.31.1, silk lined in linen, France, c. 1725-1730
National Trust 1348757, silk brocade jacket c. 1736-1740
The Chocolate Girl by Jean-Étienne Liotard, c. 1744-1745
Jacket, 1740s-1750s
Arenbergkasteel, c. 1741-1760
Christie’s Lot 3334, Sale 4981, ensemble of yellow striped silk comprising round skirt and full skirted open-front jacket with integral waistcoat panels, the yellow silk woven with a pink-sprigged white stripe
V&A IS.12-1950, a chintz jacket lined with blue-and-white striped linen, c. 1750
MoMu MVT534, jacket made of blue cotton with design painted on (in India); the front parts are connected by three bands that close with hooks and eyes, 1750-1770
MoMu ST503, blue silk jacket lined in striped blue linen, Netherlands, 1750-1780
National Trust 1348744, made c. 1760-1790 from silk damask woven in the late 1750s
V&A T.331-1985, a Brunswick, watered silk lined with silk and trimmed with silk braid, France, 1765-1775
Met 2010.342, silk, British, 1770s
Colonial Williamsburg 1962-259, swallowtail jacket in block-printed cotton, France, c. 1775-1785
Cuisiniere nouvellement arrivée de Province, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1778
Jeune Gouvernante, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1780
Colonial Williamsburg 2000-86, a woman’s jacket made c. 1780 and altered c. 1800, block-printed cotton trimmed with silk binding and lined in linen, metal lacing rings at front
V&A T.219-1966, a swallowtail jacket in printed linen, France, 1780s
Meg Andrews 7143, brocade jacket, c. 1780-1790; compare to this painting
Met 2009.300.7922, a printed cotton jacket, America, c. 1785-1795
KCI AC9113 94-11-2 a redingote-inspired jacket of red and white striped silk with silver-colored buttons and a fold-back collar, France, c. 1790
Pleated-back jackets, including the Casaque and Pet-en-l’air
The English name for this type of jacket seems to have been the “short sacque” or “short sack”; the term “pet-en-l'air” seems to refer more to an outfit with this type of jacket with a petticoat, as described in A sentimental journey through France and Italy, by Mr. Yorick:
The Pet en l’ Air is once more a faſhionable dreſs among the Engliſh Ladies, and therefore requires no definition: its etymology will be ſet forth in this chapter.
Madame Pompadour riding thro’ le Cul de Sac de l’ Oratoire, the firſt day she wore this dreſs, (which was invented by her, and had not yet been chriſtened), in company with Mademoiſelle La Tour, one of her waiting-maids, or rather ſervile companions, by ſome accident gave vent to ſome confined air, according to Hudibras, the natural way. The ludicrouſneſs of the accident occaſioned her to burſt into a loud laugh, and exclaim, “That ſhall be the name of my new dreſs;” and from that time a ſhort ſack and petticoat were called a Pet en l’ Air.
Sealing the Letter by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, 1733
London Museum 39.106, c. 1740-1744; “Sack back jacket in pink taffeta brocaded in silver gilt thread filé and frisé”
Amsterdam Museum KA 20130.1/2, a jacket and petticoat in red with pleated silk embellishment, c. 1740-1785
Detail from The Tête à Tête (Marriage à la Mode) by William Hogarth, c. 1743
V&A 439&A-1899, ensemble in silk figured with silver-gilt thread, painted with watercolours and embroidered in pale blue silk, England, c. 1760-1769
Amsterdam Museum KA 19322.1/2, jacket and skirt made of a block-printed cotton from India, c. 1760-1790
LACMA M.67.8.74a-b, patterned fustian, France or England, 1770s
LACMA AC1996.221.2.1, a woman's caraco jacket in silk satin and silk damask with silk fly fringe and lace, France, c. 1775
KCI AC5052 84-39-9, pink striped silk taffeta, compére stomacher, France, c. 1775
Met C.I.37.57a, b, silk, France, c. 1778
From Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1778:
Jolie Femme … avec un caraco galant de taffetas couleur verd pomme
Femme en Caraco plissé de taffetas changeant gorge de pigeon
Jolie Danseuse vêtue d'un Caraco pliſſé
Drawing of a young lady writing at a table by Paul Sandby
Met 1978.85.1, embroidered silk, France, c. 1780
Manchester 1999.171, roller-printed cotton, England, c. 1780-1790
MRAH, silk, c. 1780-1790
Met C.I.38.5.1, printed cotton, Belgium
MRAH, silk, c. 1791-1800
Caraco
Sue Felshin defines this style: “Woman’s jacket made of shaped panels, closely fitted in the upper body and flaring in the skirts, and often having no seaming at the waist.”
The word “caraco” also appears to be used as a generic term for a jacket, in many cases. “I realized that I'm not entirely sure what constitutes a caraco,” writes Cassidy Percoco; “I feel like I usually see it used for something that's between a jacket and a gown in length, but I'm not at all sure that that's how it was used in the late eighteenth century.”)
Met 2000.251, printed (?) cotton, Netherlands, second half of the 18th century
MoMu T12/14/B4, made in Friesland from Indian cotton chintz with a large multicolored floral design, lined in natural linen, closure with hooks and eyes, 1750-1800
Meg Andrews 7346, Dutch short gown or caraco, glazed linen with a deep purple print, 1770s
V&A T.229&A-1927, a caraco and petticoat in chintz, England, c. 1770-1780
London Museum 33.325, c. 1770-1780
Historic Deerfield 2020.17, a red figured silk caraco, probably British, c. 1775; “Probably first made in the middle of the 18th century, the garment (which may have started out as a full length gown when new) was updated perhaps two decades later, featuring the extreme pointed front and back edges at the hem, reinforced through baleen stays inserted between the fashion fabric and the lining.”
Met 2009.300.917a, b, a caraco and petticoat in striped silk, France, c. 1775
London Museum 33.326, 1775
GM:7703, silk in dark and lighter blue stripes with floral pattern, lined with linen
Colonial Williamsburg 2006-42, a woman’s long jacket or gown with short skirt, green and salmon striped silk, c. 1775-1785; “Rounded neckline with center-front tied closure (replaced ties). Sleeves cupped over elbows with puffed self-fabric trim. Skirt has striped ribbon straps stitched to the interior, intended for hooking up in polonaise to thread eyelets stitched to the outer skirt. Bodice and sleeves lined with glazed plain-woven linen.”
National Trust 1348752, printed cotton caraco, c. 1775-1800
From Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1778:
Jolie Femme en deshabillé galant (1778)
Demoiselle habillée en Caracot (1778)
Demoiselle en caracot de taffetas (1778)
La Distraite … La femme de chambre en Caraco de Buras pâle (1778)
National Trust 1348739, striped silk caraco, c. 1780-1790
MoMu T12/1045AB/J137, caraco with matching petticoat in light-blue damask, closure with hooks and eyes, Netherlands, 1780-1800
Manchester 2003.171, c. 1780-1790; “Blue-grey silk caraco jacket, brocaded in small stylised floral sprigs on a honeycomb ground in silver, pale blue and fawn. Silk almost certainly French, and the whole garment probably a French import. Cut in a slightly oriental style with a high fitted bodice and a skirt with the fullness set to the back with 3 deep box pleats. Elbow length sleeves; low squared neck; fastening cf with 8 hooks and eyes; fully lined fawn coarse linen.”
Bijlokemuseum 167, silk, c. 1780-1790
National Trust 1348748, silk and wool brocade caraco c. 1780-1790
National Trust 1348751, glazed cotton caraco printed with floral design with a tartan-woven cotton lining, c. 1780-1790
National Trust 1348755, printed cotton caraco, Dutch, c. 1780-1800
Meg Andrews 6987, late 18th century; “discharge printed cotton with a stylish design of suns and ovals in ochre, beige, brown and white, the large square neck with stomacher type section to the front, the front shoulder area with seams, three central seams to the back radiating into the waist, pleats to back hip area, the three quarter sleeves with cuffs pleated at front and flaring out behind”
National Trust 1348750, block-printed cotton caraco, possibly Dutch, c. 1790-1800
National Trust 1348753, caraco in polished cotton roller-printed with a design of stripes and flowers, c. 1790-1800
National Trust 1348754, Dutch cotton chintz caraco, c. 1790-1800
MRAH, printed linen, c. 1791-1800
Around 1780, we start seeing particular styles of fashionable short jackets that are given specific names in French fashion plates.
The sections below attempt to identify jackets by those style-names.
Pierrot
London Museum A15130, c. 1761-1770
Karen Augusta 2200, green striped silk, England, c. 1780
Historic Deerfield HD F.399, pierrot jacket in chain-stitched cotton with silk lining, buttons in front, probably France, c. 1780-1790
Historic Deerfield F.396, block-printed cotton with linen and cotton lining, probably laced over a stomacher or a handkerchief, probably France, c. 1780-1795
Colonial Williamsburg 1936-666,3 quilted white cotton (maternity outfit), England, c. 1780-1795
BNM jacket: front, ¾ view, back, side, shoulder, skirt
Met 1998.253.1, silk Pierrot jacket, France, c. 1785
Met 1981.210.7, silk, Italy, c. 1785
V&A T.219-1966, quilted printed linen, France (?), c. 1785-1790
Femme du jour, en caracot a la Pierrot, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1786
Jolie femme en baigneuse du matin, pierrot à revers avec des boutons d’acier à carreaux, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1787
Jeune Danseuse vêtue d’un caracot Pierrot, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1787
Jeune élégante vêtue d’un pierrot à poches avec des manches à rodingotte, 1787
Christie’s Sale 5473, Lot 7, a lady’s late 18th century caraco jacket made of c. 1750 Chinese silk brocade
Christie’s Lot 69 / Sale 5945, printed cotton, c. 1790
L’Optique by Louis-Léopold Boilly
Colonial Williamsburg 1991-520, block-printed cotton, France, c. 1790
KCI AC5372 86-18-3, France, c. 1790; “Pink silk taffeta; drawstring neckline; waist belt with lacing fastener; boned at center back”
KCI AC5784 88-19-13, France, c. 1790; “Jacket of green and yellow striped taffeta and satin with fringe”
Bijlokemuseum 168, silk Pierrot jacket, c. 1790-1795
MRAH (IRPA 20049488), printed silk, c. 1791-1800
Additional Resources
Dress diaries: fuchsias18thcdress, jennylafleur, katerina
Scroop Patterns Amalia jacket (paper or PDF)
JP Ryan’s Late 18th Century Fitted Jackets
Casaquin
Cauchoise élégante dans le costume de son pays, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1779
Elle a un Casaquin à la païsanne en Taffetas avec trois gances d’argent sur les nervures du dos, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1780
Case Antiques Spring 2010, Lot 0507, silk (brocade?) lined with linen with green trimming, c. 1780
Augusta 11.7247.233.767, ladies silk brocade bodice, 1780s; “Figured aqua silk brocaded w/ multi-colored floral designs, ruched cream silk gauze ribbon, homespun linen lining”
V&A T.114-2012, a c. 1780-1795 jacket made of Chinese silk woven in the 1760s, possibly a casaquin en juste “of yellow silk satin brocaded with coloured silks in a design of chrysanthemums. It has a low, V-neckline, long 2-piece sleeves to the wrists. The back with 3 seams for a fitted shape, forming short skirts below the waist. The waistline is just above the natural waist with gores at the sides and side back inserted to shape over the hips. The silk is pieced and the fronts and back lined with linen. The sleeves are partially lined with linen block-printed in black. The caraco is front opening and fastens with five linen tapes sewn to a linen panel on each side. There are 2 silk-covered buttons and 2 buttonholes at the wrist of each sleeve.”
Meg Andrews 7029, a French casaquin c. 1790 in brocaded silk; “bodice was probably a skirt in a former life because the sleeves have old fold marks as if they were the pleats from a skirt”
MRAH 2253, silk, c. 1791-1800
MRAH, iridescent silk, c. 1791-1800
Woman praying, 1797
Polonaise
Kinderspiel by Christoph Andreas, c. 1751-1772
Colonial Williamsburg 2006-42, c. 1775-1780
Jeune Dame tenant sou enfant dans ses bras: elle est vêtue d’un caraco à la Polonoise à bandes et à nervures d'une autre couleur: les bandes sont ornées autour, d’une petite blonde, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1779
Camisole à la Polonaise, de Mousseline des Indes, doublée de Taffetas rose, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1780
Jeune Demoiselle etudiant la musique; elle est vêtue d’un caraco juste à la Polonoise, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1780
Caraco à la Polonoise garni de gaze, un ruban de couleur sur le haut des garnitures, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1780
Jeune femme vêtue d’un caraco à la Polonoise de toile vermichelle, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1780
Additional Resources
Discussions: What is a "real" polonaise; Is a Polonaise not a Polonaise?
Suzanne/Figaro
Colonial Williamsburg 1991-466,A&B, jacket and petticoat in white cotton embroidered with silk, England, c. 1780
La jeune et élegante Suzanne … est vêtue en caracot garni de mousseline, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1785
L'agaçante Finette, en Juste à la Susanne, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1784
La brillante Nymphe du Palais Royal … est coeffeé à la Suzanne avec un juste à la Figaro, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1785
La jeune Sophie … est habillée d’un juste à la Suzanne de Figaro, Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1785
Painter by Louis-Léopold Boilly, 1785
Colonial Williamsburg 1990-10,1, chintz, Albany, New York, c. 1790