Fashion History of the Pelisse, Paletot and Pardessus
The Paletot and
The Pardessus
Pelisse, Pardessus, and Paletot are all terms for 19th century
styles of coats and shorter coats.
Both the late 18th century and the early 19th century pelisse were three quarter length coat.
Later
versions had a shoulder cape or capes. It was often trimmed with fur, ruched silk
trimmings or satin along its edges. When the dress sleeves became larger after
1825 the use of the pelisse declined for out of doors as the sleeves could not
fit well under it. But a pelisse style of coat dress remained popular for
indoor wear.
The pelisse mantle was a later early Victorian modification and was a cloak with
a waist length cape that created open hanging sleeves which accommodated the
fuller dress sleeves.
From the mid/late 1820s a short heavy coat called a paletot became popular with
younger women although older women still favoured cloaks. The 1850s saw a hybrid
garment called a paletot-cloak which had splits for the arms and the earlier
paletot sac of the 1840s was similar, but generally had a hood rather than a
collar. Does not seem so very different from the pelisse mantle does it?
All these changes really occurred because the gigot sleeves of the 1830s made
fitted coats more impossible to wear. Hence cloaks, mantles, capes and
shawls all loose and shapeless were the best option to a pelisse coat proper.
The Redingote was seen first in the 1790s. It was introduced as a
full-length overcoat that was lightweight, but also had capes and buttoned
across the chest. It was popular in many forms through the 19th
century, yet it is often hard to distinguish between the full length pelisse and
a redingote and a carriage or walking dress was often referred to as a redingote
in the fashion journals and periodicals of the day. Redingotes are featured on
the next page.
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Pelisse Diagrams
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Pelisse 1771 |
Pelisse/Redingote of 1810 |
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Pelisse 1814 |
Pelisse 1825 |
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Back of Caped Pelisse 1830 |
1840's Fur Trim Pelisse |
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Paletots were shorter often loose roomy coats and here are some various line
drawings of them below. In the main unlike mantelet variations they always
had an inserted sleeve head and varied from three quarter length to hip length,
but unlike the pelisse they are very much something we would recognise today as
a coat, with some being reminiscent of car coats.
These examples followed the general line of the silhouette of the day with
the earlier ones showing the fullness need to cover a crinoline and the later
ones showing the cut at the hip more suitable to the general silhouette of the
1870s.
The Pardessus differed in that it was often banded with velvet or fur trim.
It was really just like a fitted paletot and it is French for passed over.
So it was a coat that was passed over other clothes. The princess seaming
in the illustration below would give a nice streamlined silhouette.
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Shorter Victorian Coats
Shorter Victorian Coats
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Paletot |
Paletot |
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Paletot |
Paletot |
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Paletot 1870s |
The Pardessus |
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For superb Victorian or Edwardian
re-enactment costumes in USA, try the reproduction costume range at:
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