AH. One thing just struck my mind. This might be in the time period of the discovery of Prussic Acid and it's use as a dye. The first of the aniline dyes it was noted for being a vivid rich blue that didn't fade. Sorry I don't have the time to Google now... have to scoot. But, it's a theory.
Mari On Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 2:18 PM, Emily Gilbert <emchantm...@gmail.com> wrote: > I can't find the reference (which is going to drive me nuts!), but I seem > to remember reading somewhere that it was because blue cloth was more > expensive to manufacture, so wearing a blue coat told people that you could > afford the best. > > Emily > > On 1/31/2011 7:53 PM, Hope Greenberg wrote: > >> >> It's funny how something so commonly known can strike us afresh with >> questions. In this case: >> >> It's quite apparent that during the Federal/Empire/Regency or turn of the >> 18/19century period* a dark blue coat was the sign of higher status and, >> together with black, the most common color for full dress. The number of >> mentions in Austen, the number of fashion plates that show them indicates >> that this is so. Does anyone have any (documented) explanations why? >> >> The most common one seems to be "because Beau Brummel says so" though this >> blog post suggests a Goethe/Werther connection ( >> http://austenette.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/the-blue-coat/). >> >> Is it simply a fashion choice that became popular or does anyone know of >> an economic, political or other reason for the prominence of the blue coat? >> (For example, something like the tax on hair powder contributing to the >> demise of that particular fashion, or the tax laws regarding Irish linen >> that increased its popularity, etc.) >> >> - Hope >> >> * I'm tempted to start using the abbreviation FER to cover this time >> period! >> _______________________________________________ >> h-costume mailing list >> h-costume@mail.indra.com >> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume >> >> > _______________________________________________ > h-costume mailing list > h-costume@mail.indra.com > http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume > _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
