Until 15 March 2026: 100 Years of Menswear, 1750 –1850

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The Rijksmuseum’s exhibition Suit Yourself invites visitors to step into an era when men’s fashion was anything but restrained. Showcasing over 40 exquisite garments from the museum’s special collections, it celebrates the flamboyant elegance of Dutch menswear between 1750 and 1850—an age of floral embroidery, lustrous silks, velvet stripes, and opulent accessories.

Beyond its visual splendour, the exhibition challenges the long-held notion of Dutch austerity in dress. While Calvinist values have often framed post–17th-century Dutch fashion as subdued, Suit Yourself reveals a more nuanced reality: one of refinement, confidence, and even provocation. Dutch gentlemen of the period embraced colour, pattern, and sartorial flair, inspired by the macaroni style that swept through Europe from Britain in an extravagant aesthetic that defined by exaggerated silhouettes, vivid fabrics, and meticulous self-presentation.

The exhibition explores how these bold expressions of dress became vehicles for debates about masculinity, identity, and class, showing that men’s clothing was never merely functional but deeply symbolic. Through its richly tailored coats, waistcoats, and breeches, Suit Yourself reframes men’s fashion as a site of creativity and self-expression, where artistry and attitude were stitched into every seam.

Read more about in SUIT YOURSELF, featured in Selvedge Issue 127, Aurora