Black Heavy Woolen Shirt | Staphorst, Netherlands

Description

Origin: Netherlands | Staphorst area
Era: Early 20th century (circa 1910-1930)
Condition: very good; missing buttons; couple small holes; minimal signs of use; suitable for both wear and display
Measurements (with garments laying flat):
   Across front: 25″ between underarms
   Length: 26.5″
   Sleeve inseam: 19″
Additional Notes: Prior to the Second World War, shirts such as this were the main upper body garment worn by men for all occasions from holidays to everyday wear (as they became worn out) in Staphorst as well as in neighboring regions. The black woolen fabric they are made of is called “vijfschaften” in Dutch, which relates to the way it is woven and gives the jacket a shiny quality. Such shirts could be worn alone as shown in the historic image above or together with this type of jacket. Today, we would consider this to be more of a jacket as it is quite heavy and would be worn over another thinner shirt. The shirt is double-breasted and originally there would have been a row of 9 silver buttons on each side of the jacket that are no longer present. Since the buttons were made of silver they were typically removed and passed down as family inheritance as they were too valuable to leave on the shirts once they stopped being worn. The button holes are edged with blue embroidery. There are small holes in the fabric where the buttons were attached and can be used to add new buttons in the same places if desired. Scarce.