petersham

Petersham refers to two related textile products: a thick, corded silk or grosgrain ribbon used for hatbands and waistbands, and a heavy, napped overcoat fabric. Both are named after Charles Stanhope, 4th Earl of Harrington, who held the subsidiary title Viscount Petersham. In the early 19th century, Petersham was one of London's most conspicuous dandies, known for his extravagant wardrobe and his collection of snuff boxes—he reportedly owned a different one for each day of the year.

The Petersham coat was a bulky, rough-surfaced overcoat with a wide collar, worn for driving in open carriages. Viscount Petersham popularized it in the 1810s, and it became standard Regency menswear for cold weather. The coat was made from a heavy woolen fabric with a curled nap—the fabric itself became known as petersham. By the 1820s, tailors were advertising 'petersham' cloth without needing to explain the reference.

The petersham ribbon has a different application but the same origin. It is a stiff, corded ribbon—essentially grosgrain but heavier—used to finish waistbands, line hat brims, and stiffen edges. Milliners and tailors adopted the name because the ribbon matched the aesthetic the Viscount embodied: substantial, structured, English.

Viscount Petersham died in 1851, largely forgotten except by fashion historians. The coat that bore his name fell out of style. But the ribbon persists. Every formal hat that has a grosgrain ribbon inside its brim is using petersham. The man whose name once meant extravagance now survives in a small strip of fabric hidden from view.