Doublet

Modern leather doublet and breeches

A doublet is a man's snug-fitting buttoned jacket that was worn in Western Europe from the Middle Ages through to the mid-17th century. The term also refers to a formal jacket worn with highland dress, a variation of which is called an Argyll jacket or Prince Charlie jacket (or coatee).

History

Portrait of Edward the IV wearing a doublet and coat

Fourteenth and fifteenth centuries

Doublets of the 14th and 15th centuries were generally hip-length, sometimes, shorter, worn over the shirt and hose, with a houppelande or other form of overgown. From the late 14th century, doublets were cut and padded to give the wearer an egg-shaped or pigeon-breasted silhouette, a fashion that gradually died out in favor of a flatter natural fit. Doublets in this time period wear called Pourpoints, and were closed with many many buttons.

Later sixteenth century

Through the Tudor period, fashionable doublets remained close-fitting with tight sleeves, but acquired long skirts and elaborate surface decoration such as pinks (patterns of small cuts in the fabric), slashes, embroidery, and applied braid.

In the early Elizabethan period, doublets were padded over the belly with bombast in a "pouter pigeon" or "peascod" silhouette. Sleeve attachments at the shoulder were disguised by decorative wings, tabs, or piccadills, and short skirt-like peplums or piccadills covered the waist of the hose or breeches. Padding gradually fell out of fashion again, and the doublet became close-fitting with a deep V-waistline.

Preserved Fencing Doublet, 16th Century

Seventeenth century

Charles I in the doublet and breeches fastened with points of 1629, by Daniel Mijtens the Elder. By the 17th century, doublets were short-waisted. A typical sleeve of this period was full and slashed to show the shirt beneath; a later style was full and paned or slashed to just below the elbow and snug below. Decorative ribbon points were pulled through eyelets on the breeches and the waist of the doublet to keep the breeches in place, and were tied in elaborate bows.

A lady wearing a black women's doublet, with a saffron skirt that has black gards, and a white chemise

The doublet fell permanently out of fashion in the mid-17th century when Louis XIV of France and Charles II of England established a court costume for men consisting of a long coat, a waistcoat, a cravat, a wig, and breeches—the ancestor of the modern suit.

Links

• Research and how to make a 15th century Italian Doublet (Farsetto)
• How to make a doublet, with a pattern made from a dress shirt
• a dozen doublet patterns from Extreme Costuming
• 15th century doublets
• Pattern for a doublet and hosen
• Photo Gallery of Existing Fencing Doublet
• Wikipedia Article
• Purchase Doublets
• Purchase Doublets
• Simple Doublets