Gentlemen’s Evening Wear – Winter 1838

At eight o’clock in the evening on a cold December night, three men converse by the fire while they model their Parisian fashions for 1838. The man on the left is dressed for the evening in gray stirrup pants, a white collared shirt, and a black coat. Over this outfit he wears a heavy brown hooded cloak detailed with black embroidery on the hems. The cloak is lined with red silk and fastens around his shoulders with three large red fluffy tassels.

He wears white gloves, black heeled boots or shoes, and carries a black top hat and walking stick. He wears a full mustache and beard, and his hair is slicked down on top and curled at the sides. Leaning against the fireplace mantle in the center is a man who displays a similar outfit without the cloak. He wears a white collared shirt with a ruffle at the front, a white tie, and a white waistcoat with lapels in a floral pattern; over this is a black coat. He wears long gray stirrup trousers over striped silk stockings and flat black shoes accented with a tiny bow. His hair is parted, slicked down and curled much like that of his friend, but he wears a mustache only.

He holds a black bicorne hat. The man on the right models the back of a simiar hooded cloak in deep blue with black embroidery. Three large tassels hang from the back of the generous hood. He wears tan stirrup trousers over black heeled shoes, and the viewer glimpses only the back of his collar and coat which are black and dark brown respectively. He wears a black top hat and a full beard. The illustrator locates the men in a well-appointed room with a clock made of marble and two figural sculptures prominently placed on the mantle. The mantle is covered with red cloth fringed with gold, and the suggestion of portrait paintings hang on the wall.

Credit: The Claremont Colleges