About the Caraco

By the 1770's, jacket and skirt combinations were beginning to make their way into the wardrobes of fashionable women in France and England. Certain styles were given specific names, such as caraco, pet-en-l'air, pierrot (French) and brunswick (English.) For traveling, many woman wore riding habits, composed of a short jacket fashioned after a man's frock coat, waistcoat and matching petticoat.

The caraco we are making is a style dating from the late 1770's to the early 1780's. What exactly is a caraco? It is a jacket, with many different styles. There has been a certain amount of difficulty in defining and identifying the caraco. That is because the name, caraco, was applied to a wide variety of jackets during the 18th century. In its earliest form, the caraco was a loose fitting jacket worn by French working class women. Next, it was adopted and worn by the French middle class. Then, both the French and English upper classes wore it as well. To make it more appealing, the basic jacket was redesigned to give it a more fashionable shape. Over the course of its popularity, the caraco became shorter and tighter fitting. The images below present the caraco in its early form, as worn by the working class, and later interpretations from French fashion plates from 1778 - 1780.

"La Balayeuse", engraved after E. Bouchardon from Le Cris de Paris (Third Series, 1738. Used with permission from The British Museum, 1938-5-2-22 (33) case book 162 c 32.

Yellow Caraco"Femme d'un certain ton se promenant la canne a la main, vétue d'un Caraco de taffetas garni en Pouf." (A lady of a certain style promenading, her cane in her hand, wearing a taffeta caraco, trimmed with ruching.) Plate 48 (12 of Lévy edition), 1778.

Blue Caraco "Jolie Femme in deshabillé galant, coëffée d'un Chapeau à l'Angloise, tenant un parasol à canne, et se promenant avec son chien. (A pretty young lady in fashionable undress, her coiffure topped by a hat in the English style, holding a parasol walking stick, walking with her dog.) Plate 64 (28 of Lévy edition), 1778.

Print Caraco "Jeune femme vêtue d'un caraco à la Polonaise de toile vermichelle, bordé d'une bande etroite; le juppon bordé d'une bande large d'etoffe fond blanc à guirlandes de fleurs." (A young lady dressed in a caraco a la Polonaise of vermicelli printed linen, with a narrow border. The skirt has a large border of material, displaying garlands of flowers on a white background.) Plate 177 (132 of Lévy edition), 1780.

The three fashion images are used with the permission of Dover Publications, Inc., 18th Century French Fashion Plates, edited by Stella Blum, 1982.

Originally, the caraco was constructed from working class fabrics, i.e. linens, woolens, and linen woolen blends. Once adopted by the fashionable, it was made from silks, brocades and printed cottons. From its humble beginnings, came the new fashionable jacket with an old name - caraco.

©J. P Ryan, 2002. All rights reserved, including the rights to reproduce this lesson or any portions thereof in any form. This lesson is intended only for the use of those who take the class via Costume Classroom, and is not to be shared in any form for any purpose without the express permission of the author.

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