Empire Coat

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the early years of the nineteenth century, there was a profound harmony between men's and women's silhouettes in dress. In the Empire style, the high waists and puffed chests of menswear match the silhouette of women's clothing. In the 1830s, menswear accommodated the gigot sleeve of womenswear in its use of a new fullness at the sleeve cap. The typical men's ensemble of tailcoat, waistcoat, and trousers prevailed by the 1820s and 1830s, as breeches were supplanted by long trousers.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art