I am a professional carriage driver and was looking for Victorian period clothing to wear at work. I have absolutely loved this vest. It is constructed of very high-quality material, stitching, etc. It fits me very well. I have a 43-inch chest, and the size Large Livingston vest fits me comfortably and attractively. The only consideration I did not account for was the fact that the brushed cotton material picks up the horse hair easily and I simply keep a lint-roller on-hand to deal with it. I would happily recommend Historical Emporium and this vest to others.

SO I'm ito the old west as virtually all customers who come here are, and I also like things to be rugged and heavy-duty enough to last. I also like all-black, and ONLY all-black. And finally, may your respective higher powers of choice bless mother nature's invention of pure cotton. So, with those things said, I can proudly say: I'm happy with this vest as part of my old west style regular everyday wear. I wear my old west stuff (now including this vest) while doing such ordinary things as grocery shopping at walmart once a month. I wear this vest and the rest of my all-black old west all-cotton outfit with my black wool felt low-derby hat, my cotagonal-cornered rectangular-lensed old west sunglasses, my square-toed black leather cavalry boots, my brushed stainless steel mechanical wind-up old west style pocket watch--and so on and so on-- whenever I go to town. And all criticism as to my personal style, be damned. The material this vest is made of has the twill knit of dickies work pants, but feels at least twice as heavy-grade there as, like I'd say equivalent in heavywheight density to modern day cotton duck canvas. It also feels just soft enough to feel nice, yet its texture still has the simultaneous crispness (if that makes sense to you) to also feel as-- if not far more-- durable as any Dickies-like work pants. Yet, thise vest (and now that I've sampled its fabric in person, the entire Livingston black brushed cotton clothing line sold here at H.E.) is...

Just like the matching Frock coat this vest is extremely well made, comfortable and should last a life time

Well made, nice fit. Very classy!

This is a well made and historically accurate vest. I like the way it fits but the material, though cotton, is heavy. I thought it would be much more lightweight for the summer which is why I got the cotton instead of wool. They are closer to a canvas. Otherwise, I would give it 5 stars.

The vest is as promised. The material is heavier than I expected and it is warmer than I expected, but that is probably my lack of understanding. I think that the vest will be a reliable garment that I can use for reenactments for many years.

Fits well and looks good! Now I just need more opportunities to wear it.

Great piece, high quality fabric, nice pockets, authentic to the era, buckle on back works great! im truly satisfied. i measured myself and order size depending on what i wanted loser or tighter.. and it came in fitting me perfectly!!!!

I bought the Livingston vest in Medium size to match the frock coat for a formal civil war dance; the fabric is soft and the fit is perfect. I can even wear it with modern suit pants and jacket.

The vests are nice. They were a bit shorter than expected, but still acceptable. I feel like they were worth the money and wait.

Got a gift of some cash & decided to buy this to add to my vest collection. The quality was just as good as all the other vests I've ordered. The only caveat is to be sure of your size. This was one that I got the XXL as the chest size called for it. It fit perfectly.

Let me make this perfectly clear: I'm on old school biker with a number of leather cuts. I have always been a vest person, preferably leather. But when my youngest daughter began planning her wedding this summer she really trimmed her budget in a number of areas and wanted to keep things simple for the wedding party. She asked me to wear slacks, a vest, dress shirt and tie to give her away. The wedding will be outdoors in late July in the South (hot & humid). I wanted a vest that would breathe as much as possible in the heat but it also had to be well made and stylish. When I sent some links of the Livingston Black Brushed Cotton Vest to my daughter she was absolutely elated by it. She rarely gets excited about things, but she was certainly excited about how this vest looked. This vest looks and fits amazing. The crew at Historical Emporium treated me like a king with stellar customer service. I couldn't be more pleased with this purchase, especially when it makes my daughter and wife happy.

Feels stylish

Wonderful jet black brushed fabric. Buttons nicely stitched. Careful wearing a pocket watch with this vest: If the vest is a little tight around the middle, the roundness of the watch will form a slight mated circle visible from the front. The nature of the depth of black of the fabric is the cause -- use a lint brush to make the area jet black as the surrounding material. This is a very warm fabric.

this is my 5 th vest they are all great, fit, cut, size everything......i hope in the future the company will design more styles and colors in cotton canvas...thank you rudy