A study on the vest shape and tailoring of the Korean Empire in the 1900s

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to fundamentally examine the vests of the robes “Daeraebok” and “Soraebok” of the Korean Empire from the 1876 Port Opening to the 1910 annexation of Korea to Japan. Among the collections of different robes of the Korean Empire which belong to various universities and institutions, only the vests were surveyed. The shape of the vests in the Korean Empire were single-breasted and doublebreasted. Most V-necklines and vests with a shawl collar look like a tailored collar, where the collar outline was shaped like a notched and picked collar, which is a mix of the step collar and roll collar of the 19th century. The rear center line was not flat, but inclined to a triangle. All vests of the robe Daeraebok were equipped with gold buttons, and those of the robe Soraebok had black satin buttons. The tailoring characteristic is that the front has a different material (dark black wool) from the back (black silk). This characteristic is expected to be an important basic piece of information in the restoration and reproduction of the vest, which was worn during the imperial period, especially to reveal its shape, characteristics and composition. This characteristic can also be used as data of cultural contents based on Korean modern history.