Wednesday, April 13, 2011


Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Susan reporting:







Top left: Lord Cornwallis, by Thomas Gainsborough, 1783


Anonymous said...

Excellent! Hope that gentleman's knee-breeches will be next in this series?

Richard Foster said...

Neck stocks? Shirt buckles? Winding cloths? All makes me thoroughly grateful that I am not an eighteenth century gentleman.

Jane O said...

Thank you. I always had difficulty trying to figure out the stock and the cravat. Now a question. Did all those Regency lords wear a stock as well as a cravat? All I ever read about is the cravat. Whne did the stock disappear from fashion?

Anonymous said...

very interesting post...I never heard of a shirt buckle before. I only knew of the cravat pins that are the modern version of a ladies stick pin.

nightsmusic said...

I have a luckenbooth pin similar to that one that's been in my family longer than I can remember. It was my grandfather's grandfathers. It's very simple but that's part of its beauty, I think.

Now, my question is, why did they wear the stock? Was it to cut down on the cravat from excessive body oils and dirt? Because we know many men (and women) used cologne in place of bathing...

Diane said...

I have an antique Luckenbooth my husband gave me when we got engaged. He is a Scot and he says they were often used in place of engagement rings back in the day. I usually wear mine on the lapel of my jacket.

Susan Holloway Scott said...

Anonymous, we've written about breeches several times before - search "breeches" (the box is in the right-hand column) and you'll get the links. Which, of course, is not to say we won't write about them again.

RichardFoster, "Winding sheets"? Not quite! *g*

Jane O, I can't offer a definite date for when stocks go out of fashion, since they seem to pop up in portraits well into the 19th c. Any one else with a better answer? In a way, they're still worn today: clerical collars that fasten at the back of the neck are their direct descendants.

Rebecca, stick pins and shirt buckles are both ornamental...though the shirt buckles actually did perform a useful service by closing the front of the shirt, while stickpins and tie-tacs are mainly decorative.

Nightsmusic and Diane, I agree, antique luckenbooth pins are charming. I can see a post about them in the future!

As for why men wore stocks: fashion. That's about it. But definitely NOT because of hygiene. Yes, we modern folk like to think we're much cleaner than our ancestors - but 18th c. ladies and gentlemen were clean, nor did they require perfume to cover up body scents. While most didn't bathe daily in a tub, they did wash themselves thoroughly, and changed their linen daily. Cleanliness was next to Godliness...:)

staghounds said...

Mounted hunters wear stock ties every day still.

Anonymous said...

Susan, I would like to know where you obtained the info on Stock Bucles. I have acquired two and would like to put the info with them along with you site info. Thanks

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