Coat

Item number Ed1.313 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Light brown coat with white. The centre opening has front panels that overlap to the right when tied closed with two long thick ties. The v-neck is finished with a narrower outer facing or collar of white silk squared at the ends and hand-sewn in place. The coat has a centre back seam, a pair of flared gussets under each arm, and a slightly flared panel descending from the mid-point of each outer facing so that the coat overlaps at the front when closed. There are small openings in the side seams at waist level on each side. Narrow inner ties are sewn to the right inner facing and the left underarm seam. The sleeves are inset with straight seams, and have slight convex curves at their lower edges. The inside lining is unbleached cotton.

History Of Use

Such coats “Doo-ru-ma-gui” became a part of men’s formal wear in the early- to mid- Chosun Dynasty. At the end of the Chosun Dynasty, the government legislated the simplification of clothing. In the case of the “Doo-ru-ma-gui”, this meant the elimination of slits at the lower end of the side seams, and their replacements with a pair of flared gussets at each side. These often were pleated at the top for comfort. When men began wearing western-style vests with pockets after the opening of Korea to the outside world at the end of the 19th century, “Doo-ru-ma-gui” often were made with slits at waist level so that men could reach objects carried in their vest pockets. “Doo-ru-ma-gui” are still worn as festival wear. In the 1950s the white outer facing or collar was not stiffened with cardboard as it is now, but instead was made of Korean handmade paper or silk.

Specific Techniques

The garment was sewn inside out and then turned right side out, making the seams invisible. The edges of the ribbon ties are cut with pinking shears. The white outer facing or collar is hand-sewn in place.

Narrative

Most of the clothing in the J. McRee Elrod Collection was made for him and his family by friends while they were living in Korea, much of it by Kim, Sung Sook. She and her family lived cooperatively in the same house as the Elrod family. While they were there, the Elrods preferred to wear Korean clothing on very cold days and for social occasions. They found it to be more comfortable than western clothing in cold weather, as public buildings were unheated in the period immediately following the Korean War. It also was more comfortable for floor seating in Korean homes, and easier to store with limited furniture than western clothing. The children’s clothing was worn by their children Mark and Lona.