Jacket, Zouave jacket

A black wool Zouave jacket, embroidered in chain stitch in arabeque patterns with pink silks, retailed by Peter Robinson.

The short, collarless, open fronted, Zouave jacket was fashionable between 1859 and 1865. It was inspired by the jackets worn by the French Zouave regiments who served in the Crimean War (1854-1855) and in 1859, when France, allied with Piedmont and Sardinia, fought Austria for control of northern Italy. In the battle of Magenta the Zouaves of the Imperial Guard won ten crosses of the Legion of Honour and fifty military medals. Shortly afterwards they led the assault at the battle of Solferino which broke through the Austrian lines and led to an Allied victory. The original Zouave troops came from the Kabyli tribe who lived in Algeria and Morocco.

This black wool jacket is embroidered in chain stitch with pink silks in an arabesque pattern. Other surviving examples are made in scarlet wool trimmed with braid or decorated with embroidery. The jackets were usually worn with a habit shirt or Garibaldi blouse and a skirt. This example was sold by Peter Robinson, who by 1860 had transformed his single drapery outlet into one of London's largest department stores, situated at 103-108 Oxford Street. The shop sold millinery, made-to-measure outfits and mourning clothes alongside loose-fitting, ready-made garments such as mantles and flounced silk skirts.