A high society man in the 18th century wore a three-piece suit called a habit à la française, which consisted of:

• Justaucorps: Long coat with a wide skirt, often in silk or velvet, richly embroidered. 
• Waistcoat: It should fall below the waist and cover the trouser buttons, often in contrasting fabric with embroidery. 
• Trousers: Knee-length, tight-fitting, with knee braces. The trousers should fit tightly and not extend down over the calf.
• Shirt: White with ruffles at the neck and cuffs, white cravat. 
• Socks: Silk socks and shoes with buckles. 
• Wig: Powdered, with rolled sides and tail. Hairpiece or your own long hair, styled. 
• Accessories: Tricorn hat, gloves and often a cane.

Please note:

It can be difficult and expensive to obtain the right fabrics and embroideries, which we understand. The important thing is that the overall impression and silhouette be as historically accurate as possible. If you're unsure, choose plain fabrics rather than patterned ones.

Make your own wig or buy or borrow a wig styled according to the fashion of the time. Unfortunately, not just any wig is suitable for this purpose.

The wig

Choose a wig in shades of grey that is powdered, not shiny. The appearance of wigs varied during the period, but the basic style was combed back at the top and curled at the sides, with the rest of the hair in a ponytail and preferably a hair pouch in black silk.

In the 18th century, a hair pouch was a bag of fabric, often black that was used to gather and hold together the hair at the back of a man's neck, and sometimes also the hair of the wig. It was then tied with a ribbon or bow. The style varied and could be short, long, wide or narrow.

Hair pouches were used by both men with their own hair and those who wore wigs.