George became Colonel Commandant of the Dragoons in 1782 and by 1796 was Colonel. Although he adored the trappings of the military life, the prince was forbidden from undertaking active service by his father, George III. Disappointed but nothing less than obedient on this occasion at least, George combined his twin loves of spending money and the military into amassing a rich collection of military dress and other related objects.
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| http://www.royalcollection.org.uk |
This rather splendid jacket is one of those items and came into George's possession in 1800. Made by JC Franck, a London tailor, the jacket is fashioned from a rich and suitable commanding dark blue. Its lining is white silk and the garment is adorned with bright silver lace and an eye-catching yellow detail that picks out the cuffs and collar.
Happily this jacket remains in excellent condition and once can quite imagine why George loved it; it is a timeless garment, of its era yet as eye-catching now as it was two centuries ago. I am sure that Prinny cut quite a dash sporting about town in his brand new jacket!
Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.
A thing of beauty but it would be impractical to go to war with...
ReplyDeleteAt least you'd look dapper whilst doing so!
DeleteA stunning piece. The plan must've been to dazzle the enemy with the shiny silver. Those buttons!
ReplyDeleteHe never did things by halves, our Prinny.
Deletecertainly practical to go to war in, all hussar uniforms are typically lavish & dashing and were worn in battle during the napoleonic wars, not just for mess and balls. The cut of the sleeve head is designed for the arm to be raised in sword play from a horse without the dolman, it's correct name, riding up & displacing the sword belt, civilian sleeve fashion followed suit
ReplyDeleteThank you; it's truly a beautiful garment and nice to know it was practical too!
DeleteI've made a number over the years & seen them worn & if cut correctly movement is easy, the tracing on the cuffs & at the top of the shoulder blade denotes the regiment, as they are all different designs, but the in-between tracings on the chest are down to the purse depth of the owner for the most part
ReplyDeleteAny way to show off purse depth would definitely have appealed to George!
DeleteMy gggggfr made countless uniforms for Prinny and others. Here's a blog with an example (unfortunately no picture though).
ReplyDeletehttps://prinnystaylor.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/the-birthday-suit-and-the-hussars-uniform/
Thank you, sir; a wonderful blog and a wonderful book too!
Deletenice jacket
ReplyDeleteIt is!
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