Today we feature an interesting circa 1870 visite from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs:

This visite is constructed from a combination of a silk jacquard in green, red, black, and gold and a what appears to be a black silk velvet with a raised floral design- it’s very hard to make out from the pictures. The multi-color jacquard runs along the front and it used in the sleeves and lower back; again, it’s difficult to make out the precise construction. Finally, the edges are trimmed with gold knot-work fringe. In many respects, this style is very reminiscent of 1860s mantles.

Below is a close-up of the sleeve:

In the above picture, one can see the elaborate silk jacquard pattern that’s very reminiscent of a tapestry and edged with knot-work fringe. Overall, the combination of a multicolor jacquard combined with black creates a very dramatic style effect and especially when it comes to the front and sleeves. It’s too bad that there are no pictures detailing the construction and especially on the back where the jacquard and the black velvet meet. This is an excellent example of early 1870s outerwear style and definitely would be a good candidate for recreating.

---