n the person of a youth,
and undignified when worn by a man--an elderly person looks absurd in it,
and to nobody is it in reality becoming. What is the good of the scanty
skirts, that barely admit of a pocket being made in their folds? They add
no symmetry nor grace to the person--they furnish little accommodation to
the wearer. What is the good of the rolling lapel in the front, and of the
collar never intended to be turned up? This coat is only a debased and
withered skeleton of the original garment of the seventeenth century,
deprived of all the qualities that recommended its type for general
adoption; it has neither warmth nor comfort on its side, and it cannot
stand the scrutiny of elegance for a moment. It may be a difficult thing
for a tailor to make, but that is all; and the sooner that men emancipate
themselves from the thraldom of its sway the better. If an open coat is to
be adhered to, the old _habit-de-cour_ is the thing; utility and ornament
there make a much nearer approach to each other, and for comfort there is
no doubt about the matter. We object, however, to the idea of an open coat
on the score of ornament, though we admit some of its claims to utility.
Two surfaces of decoration on the human body are absurd; they distract the
attention, and often, by the incongruous opposition of colour and
substance, produce a most disagreeable effect. Without wishing to hurt the
feelings of Young England--or, as some facetious wag or other has called
him, Little Britain--we declare our dissent, _in toto_, from the dangerous
heresy of the white waistcoat with the black coat. 'Tis a most unnatural
conjunction. If the colour of the under-garment were only red instead of
white, we should suspect some secret connexion with the old woman in
scarlet, _ou vous savez_; as it is, we set it down to the account of her
friend in black, and we launch against it our aesthetic anathema. True, it
makes a man look clean; but cannot a gentleman enjoy the reputation of
cleanliness without turning himself into a magpie? Carry the point out a
little further--to its ultimate results, in fact--and picture to yourself
Albion junior, in a black coat lined with white silk, a white waistcoat,
white cravat, black unmentionables, and white silk stockings--each good
and legitimate articles of dress in their way--what a figure! No! turn
rather to one of those splendid old canvasses of Velasquez. Look at the
great Duque de Olivarez, the finest gentl