A tattersall is a regularly spaced plaid, usually a 1/2" rectangle that's a little taller than it is wide, combining two dark colored lines on a light ground. The pattern was named after Tattersall's, a London horse market founded in 1766 where blankets with the design were in common use.
Photo: Brocklehurst's
Two hundred and fifty years later, the tattersall waistcoat remains a standard part of a man's formal and informal hunt garb, when foxes are the prey of the day. So tattersall worn under a tweed hacking jacket can come in handy for men who are or who wish to appear as if they are on speaking terms with a horse - even if the horse in question is one of the police mounts that are ridden around New York's Central Park. For the horse ranks higher than the dog in the hierarchy of costly pets, and where there are horses, there are females who dote on them.
That makes a tattersall waistcoat useful for more than one kind of hunting.
That makes a tattersall waistcoat useful for more than one kind of hunting.
Posts
6 comments:
Ever so clever.
I like your inuendo! Nice waistcoat, where can you find such a waistcoat. I would like to get one just to wear casually with a sportcoat and no tie in cool evenings or weekend galvanting. What do you think about shirts in tattersall. I have always been partial to the pattern.
I agree with Tonyp, the waistcoat is lovely. Also, how can one not love horses!
Good show, Will. As ever, enlightening, well-researched and erudite.
I have a tattersall waistcoat which belonged to my grandfather; it has won me admiring looks over post-prandial port and out in the country. Certainly an ideal garment for riding and cold days (and both types of hunting).
A Masterly summation of the history and semiotics of the Tattershall check, with a suitably raffish ending: I can almost hear Terry Thomas purring the phrase in some 1950s British Comedy.
Tony P - Cording's of Piccadilly sell (or certainly sold) a splendid selection of Tattershall Check waistcoats, should you find yourself in the Great Wen.
I defer to your greater wisdom in every respect, except on this point: Tattersall waistcoats should never be worn off the hunting field by a gentleman, even when shooting. *On* the hunting field they are essential and an opportunity: Look best with lapels AND flaps on all pockets. Any sensible woman would avoid the inappropriate wearer of this material.
Post a Comment