Disclaimer: The information in this post is what I have gleened from sources, but the lines seem very blurry between these styles, and so if I am wrong about something, please leave me a comment and correct me!
A Caraco
A caraco is a long-length jacket with a fitted back, like a robe a l'Anglaise. The length of the skirt of these jackets seems to be about mid-thigh, and the skirts usually have inverted box pleats at the back, often pressed but sometimes left loose. Caracos typically have 3/4 length sleeves with flounces. Examples of caracos close severals ways, with lacings over a stomacher, pinned to a stomacher, with "flaps" that hook across a stomacher, or with a comperes front (a false front made to look like a stomacher, that closes at the center with hooks or buttons), or edge-to-edge by hooks.
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| The matching caraco and petticoat from the V&A |
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| A interesting caraco with an extremely low-cut front |
A Pet en l'ier
A pet en l'ier jacket is a garment of mid-thigh to mid-hip length, with a saque back, that is, watteau pleats at the back. This jacket usually has 3/4 sleeves with flounces, and closes over a stomacher or with a comperes front.
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| A short-length pet-en-l'ier from KCI |
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| A Pet-en-l'ier |
A Pierrot
A pierrot is a a very short jacket, actually more of a bodice with a ruffle or flounce added onto the back. Pierrot jackets came into style later in the century, and often closed edge-to-edge with hooks or interior lacings. They were most commonly long-sleeved, and worn with walking-length skirts, puffy fichus, and monster-sized hats.
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| A zone-front pierrot |
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| A pierrot from KCI - notice the lack of jacket skirt in front |
A Casaquin
A casaquin jacket is that of short length, about mid-hip, but still with a flared skirt and pleats at the back. It has a fitted back, like a robe a l'anglaise, and may or may not have seams at the waist. Casaquins may have 3/4 length of full-length sleeves, and close over a stomacher. The hallmark of a casaquin appears to be the lacey trimmings.
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| The casaquin featured in this week's Costume Analytics |
So there you have it. I did not cover the Polonaise, the Riding Habit, Redingote, or the Figaro, but hopefully this little primer has been helpful to you all!
Thanks for the overview! I've always been a bit confused about the difference between a pierrot and a casaquin. I usually just settle for calling it "one of those little jacket thingies"! ;)
ReplyDeleteTo add to the confusion, I have also seen a short robe battante be called casaque. A loose jacket with a French back. They went out of style quite early on, so perhaps the name was just passed on to a later fashion in jackets?
ReplyDeleteIsis, you got it. A "casaque" went along with the pet-en-l'ier, and was an earlier style. I think this painting shows a casaque:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/c/chardin/1/05letter.html
Here's one from the V&A:
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O115816/ensemble-pet-en/
Jen - (first off I'm honored that you read my blog!) I've been confused about these things for...gosh, since I started with the 18th c. stuff. I'm not entirely sure I've got it right, and I've left some jackets out (as Isis notes), but it seems to make sense this way so I'm sticking to it, haha :-D
I'm so glad you did a post on this, and my understanding of the differences lines up entirely with yours.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised the other day because the new LACMA exhibit appears to have one labeled wrong! When I was there, I caught that a pet en l'air was labeled as a caraco (or vice versa, I don't remember now, haha)
Based on original descriptions on fashion plates (which I consider one of the most reliable sources of fashion terms) I think that caraco is actually more of a collective name for all manner of "jackets". Various types of jackets, pet en l'airs (it's actually l'air, not l'ier, so "fart in the air", because of the short skirt!) for example, are often referred to as caracos. On fashion plates the names caraco, camisole and in some cases casaquin also seem to be used quite interchangeably.
ReplyDeleteSo labeling a pet en l'air as caraco as mentioned in the above comment, is not wrong, it's just a less specific name. A bit like calling a bolero a jacket nowadays, or calling jeans pants.
Oops, that above comment was from me at http://18thcenturyblog.com, I couldn't use any of the "comment as"-things.
ReplyDeleteHi I'm a french collector and textile dealer. Pet en l'air is the name of the pleats in the low back and we often see them in caracos which ( you'r right) is the usual name for jackets. The other name of Pet en l'air is caracaca in soth France.... I think it could be funny for you.
ReplyDeleteSerge from http://www.villa-rosemaine.com/en/bourse
Pet-en-l'air, is an expression. It can't be really translated. Péter en l'air (the action) is someone who is show off too much with vanity. I really don't know why they call this garment like this. I suppose it's a fun name!
ReplyDeleteThe back pleats are called only "plis" in the 18th century. After the costumers and historians will call them "plis à la française" (french pleats).
Pierrot is not a sparrow. Pierrot is a cute and intimate variation of the name Pierre (Peter). Pierrot is also a personna in the comedia del Arte.
I hope it help! ;)
Evelyne
ah, excellent! Evelyn, thank you for setting the record straight with the translations. Google translate failed me! I started learning French awhile after I wrote this post and I realized that literal translations and vernacular are, I suppose just like in English, two totally different things.
ReplyDeleteHi! So the difference between a pierrot and a casaquin (aside from trimmings) is mostly that a pierrot has ruffled skirty things where a casaquin has pleats; pierrot is a fully-closed front and casaquin has a stomacher? Are zone-fronts strictly casaquin? What if they don't even meet in the middle but not over a stomacher, like the Kyoto Costume Inst jacket? Where would that be classified? I would be very appreciative of any sources you have on 1780s/1790s jackets, as things seem to start to get a little hairier around then.
ReplyDeletesestables@gmail.com
Hi Sestables - thanks for your comment. What I've found to distinguish casaquins and pierrots is that the pierrot's "tail" is mostly out the back, not around the sides. Pierrots can be zone front, as well as closing at center front. You don't see robings or stomachers wit pierrots, as they were out of style by the 1780s, when the pierrot came into fashion. Casaquins were indeed worn with stomachers, and the skirtings are around the side as well as the back. The KCI jacket, if you are referring to the aqua/turquoise 1790s one, is a jacket and gilet - the gilet is a complete vest, like a man's vest, with the jacket worn over it. If the jacket for that pairing had to be classified I'd call it a pierrot, because of the lack of skirtings, but it might also fall into the riding habit category. You might like Dames a la Mode for fashion plates for the 1780s and 90s - lots of primary source material, plus descriptions, usually in French, to clear up some of the terminology.
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