Theories abound about the nature of the double breasted waistcoat. Many believe they were a function-before-fashion garment, owing to the fact they were allegedly warmer than a single-breasted waistcoat. People who believe this, often believe that they may have been exclusively an outdoors garment. Others say the style evolved from the military or from a makeshift garment developed by Royal Navy ratings.

At present, I suspect all of these are myths or partial truths. I personally have seen no conclusive evidence on origins, style evolution and contexts, other than visual references.

Things we know; There were two distinct styles, the half DB and the full DB. Both of these are modern terms. Who knows what they called them? The half DB is most often seen in earlier cuts. The full DB seems to appear in the 70s, and makes a full appearance complete with late style 'camisole' cut bottoms by the 80s and 90s.

The DBW was rareish, but common enough to be seen as a style across Europe. It does appear to be safe to say that the DBW was a 'casual' style, and not the sort of thing one would wear at court. This lends credibility to the idea they were a country or outdoors garment, but again, there is no conclusive evidence to back up this theory other than the fact that they seem to be more common in paintings that feature sporting and English country styles.

All we really have to tell the story are the educated guesses based on period images. The following galleries are an attempt to index a few examples by year.

SS.