This fashion plate, which came from an old tailoring firm in Halifax, shows winter styles for men and boys. Also included is a woman's riding habit with fitted jacket and full, trailing skirt. When possible, women had their riding habits made by tailors. The finishing touch is a little top hat and flowing veil. Veils, as a riding habit accessory, came into fashion in the 1840s.
The man in the red coat is in "hunting pink", so-called since the 1830s. It resembles the dress coat but the fronts curve back, while those of the dress coat are cut straight across the front. This style, and that of the coat in the upper right corner, called a Newmarket coat, are ancestors of the morning coat which was semi-formal attire at the end of the century. Both frock coat styles seen in illustration 8 are shown here.
In only one instance "the evening dress suit" do coat and trousers match. Striped and checked trousers were popular for daytime wear. Note the contrasting waistcoats. Several overcoat styles are shown. The length went up and down throughout the century; it had been very long in the 1820s but began to shorten in the 1830s.
All the men are wearing top hats. They were worn on every occasion except in rural communities where a wide brimmed, flat-crowned, felt hat in winter, and a straw hat in summer, were worn for outdoor work.
The boys' outfits show styles worn at different ages. The older boys' clothes reflect men's fashions. One carries a top hat, while one young boy wears a cap with a peaked brim and a long tassel and the other a hat trimmed with a large ostrich feather.
