Stroller (style)

The stroller, also known as a Stresemann, a director, or simply black lounge is a form of men's semi-formal daytime dress comprising a single- or double-breasted, one- or two-button, peaked-lapel coat (grey or black), grey striped or checked trousers, a necktie (grey or silver), and a waistcoat (dove grey, funeral black, or buff). This makes it largely identical to the formal morning dress from which it is derived, with the exchange of a formal suit jacket for a morning coat, and the almost exclusive use of a necktie and turndown collar. The correct hat is a bowler or Homburg.

For a semi-formal day wedding, the groom dresses in a dark-grey coat with a dove-grey or buff waistcoat; for a funeral, the mourner wears a matching black coat and waistcoat. In the Continent and the Commonwealth, morning dress is worn to formal day events; the stroller in the U.S. (The stroller is the semi-formal day time equivalent of the semi-formal evening dress dinner jacket or tuxedo (black tie); morning dress is the formal day dress equivalent of evening formal dress (white tie).)

The term "stroller" is only used in the US and is unknown in the UK, where, though the garment itself saw a limited period of popularity, was simply called "black lounge". Because black was then reserved for formalwear, it was unknown as a colour for lounge suits, so the term was unambiguous. In German, a stroller is called a "Stresemann", after the Weimar German chancellor Gustav Stresemann, who, like other German politicians of his age, wore morning dress or a frock coat in the Reichstag or when making public appearances. However, Stresemann found the long coat impractical for daily work in the Chancellery. To avoid having to change completely, he began to wear the prototype of this jacket at his office, while switching to a morning coat when engaged on more formal business. The style quickly caught on as a more practical variation on morning dress. In Japan, it is known as a "director's suit", from the term "inside director".