1908 Woman's wool suit
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1906 -1912 A pale grey wool suit.
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The back of the suit mounted
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Detail showing the belt at the front of the jacket.
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Detail of the skirt at the back waist, where the pleat is sewn down
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Detail of the brush braid inside the hem; two of the rows of the top-stitching round the hem can be seen.
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Detail of the pocket in the jacket lining.
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The label of Hitchcock Williams & Co in the back neck of the jacket
Description
The wool is in a plain weave with slubs of black, white and red, giving a speckled effect.
This is a style known as a Norfolk jacket; it first appeared for men about 1860 and there are various theories about the origin of the name, all connected with the county of Norfolk in East Anglia.
The jacket has a strap of the wool, 1½" wide and top-stitched down ³⁄₁₆" in from each edge, on each front panel, running over the shoulders and down each side of the back in imitation of the box pleats typical of a Norfolk jacket. The outside edges of the straps on the fronts line up with darts which run up from the hem to shape the bust. A self belt, 1¾" wide and top-stitched ¼" in from each edge, goes under the straps at the back and the front, where it slopes down and crosses over, fastened with an abalone button through a worked buttonhole.
The jacket is top stitched ½" in from the edges all round and fastened in the front with five abalone buttons, ¹³⁄₁₆" wide, and 1" long worked buttonholes stitched with brown silk thread; the lowest button is under the crossed-over belt, and there is an extra buttonhole in the left lapel.
It is lined with ivory cotton satin with woven black pinstripes ⁵⁄₁₆" apart. There is a pocket inside the left front, 8" up from the hem and 6" in from the centre edge, with a strip of the fabric, 1" deep, folded and pleated, along the top of the opening.
The sleeve heads have four pleats into the armhole seams at the front and three at the back. 3" of the fabric is folded up at the ends to form cuffs, which are lined with the striped cotton and are open for ¾" at the outside sleeve seam.
The skirt has a side front opening fastened with four hooks and bars and two press studs down the 10" deep placket which is 1⅝" wide. It is lined with plain grey cotton and a pocket of this is sewn to the inside edge of the placket. The top of the skirt is held in a double layered cream cotton waistband, ¾" wide; the seam turnings are folded to one side on the inside and top-stitched down ¼" away from the seam. There is a deep inverted pleat at the centre back, top-stitched down for 4" below the waist; this suggests that the suit may have been for cycling. Five rows of top-stitching go round the hem spaced over 2", and pale grey brush braid on a ½" wide heading is sewn round the inside.
The suit shows signs of being well worn and belonged to Norah Lush.
Contemporary illustrations
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Detail from a cartoon in Punch, November 1897
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Fashion drawing in The Lady's Realm, November 1904
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Fashion plate in The Ladies' Tailor, July 1906
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Fashion drawing in an advertisement in Femina, May 1907
History
The suit was made by Hitchcock, Williams & Co, and their label is sewn in the back neck of the jacket.
George HItchcock took over an older silk mercers in 1835 in partnership with a Mr. Rogers, who left in 1843. They were in St. Paul's Churchyard, where a lot of drapery businesses were based. George Williams had joined the company as an assistant in 1841 and became a director in 1853 when the company Hitchcock, Williams & Co. was formed; he married Hitchcock's daughter in 1855. The business thrived and expanded, and by 1900 it had world-wide interests, and although their buildings were completely destroyed in the blitz in 1940 the company survived until 1984.