By the last quarter of the 18th Century simplicity was becoming equated with elegance in menswear. This plain silk coat is decorated solely with a braid border and, down the front, pairs of braid and cord froggings and tassels. Even the pockets have been relegated to the green silk front lining. Frogged fastenings had been adopted into fashionable men’s dress from Hungarian Hussar uniforms along with other elements such as fur trimming and tasselled boots. The Hussars came to public prominence during their involvement in the war of Austrian Succession in the 1740s. Their distinctive uniforms influenced not only fashionable dress but also costumes worn to masquerade balls and entertainments.
These shades of light salmon pink and mid green were frequently seen at the time, particularly in women’s clothes, accessories and trimmings.
