Originally, the Spencer jacket was worn by men in the 1790s as an extra warm layer over a tailed coat. Frequently decorated with military frogging, it is thought that Earl Spencer created the garment unawares when he stood too close to a fire and the tails of the jacket were badly singed. Cutting them off he was left with a long-sleeved tail-less jacket which was later adopted by females and became the ‘look’ of the Regency period and immortalised by the books and writings of the author Jane Austin.
