Morning dress

Not to be confused with mourning dress.

Western dress codes Formal wear Formal (including morning dress) Semi-formal Informal Smart casual Business casual Casual Active attire

Morning dress with matching black waistcoat with a then fashionably shorter skirt length, top hat, formal gloves, contrasting top Oxford boots with punching across the toe cap, boldly striped long tie, striped shirt with contrasting white turn-down collar and cuffs, and formal striped trousers. The characteristic angle of the cutaway front of the skirt is clearly visible, as is the waist seam. (May, 1901)

Morning dress is the daytime formal dress code, consisting chiefly for men of a morning coat, waistcoat, and striped trousers, and an appropriate dress for women. Men may also wear a popular variant where all parts (morning coat, waistcoat and trousers) are the same colour/material, often grey and usually called 'Morning Grey' to distinguish it; this is only properly appropriate to weddings and races, and is known as a morning suit.

Morning dress is now rarely worn as anything other than formal wear, as a form of Civic Dress e.g. by provincial Mayors (as an alternative to Court Dress, but more generally only for weddings, some official Civic, governmental or Royal functions, social 'Season' events e.g. races such as Royal Ascot, formal lunches (especially those in the City of London institutions notably of the Livery Companies and Guilds and as uniform at some of Britain's most traditional schools such as Eton.

History

The name originated from the practice of gentlemen in the nineteenth century riding a horse in the morning with a cutaway front single breasted morning coat. The modern twentieth century morning dress was originally a more casual form of half dress, but as the nineteenth century progressed it gradually became acceptable to wear it in more formal situations instead of a frock coat. In the Edwardian era it took over in popularity from the frock coat as the standard daytime form of men's full dress. When it was regarded as a more casual coat, it was common to see it made with step collars (notched lapels in American English), but as it took over from the frock coat in formality it began to be made with the more formal pointed lapels (peaked lapels in American English).

Standard components

Outline

Morning dress consists of:

• a morning coat (the morning cut of tailcoat), now always single breasted with one button (or very rarely two) and with peaked lapels
• a waistcoat, at formal events this is black and matches the material of the coat; at funerals mourners and undertakers usually are dressed as such and this has led to confusion as termed mourning dress and also, but rarely, with additional white slips.
• a pair of formal striped or checked trousers worn with braces
• a shirt;
  • either a turndown collar is worn (white detachable, fastened by collar studs; or attached) with a tie, in which case the shirt has double cuffs
  • otherwise, a high detachable wing collar is worn with a single-cuffed shirt; this combination is always accompanied now by a formal Ascot, as opposed to a day cravat which is different. This is a more formal option most commonly seen at weddings;
• a plain or patterned silk handkerchief or pocket square may be worn; it is folded and inserted into the front breast pocket of the morning coat
• black Oxford shoes or dress boots, or boots with a horse riding connection, such as George or Chelsea boot, or galosh-top dress boots; worn with plain dark socks (or another colour if they can't been seen)

If the trouser cloth matches the coat, the ensemble becomes a morning suit. The waistcoat may also match, or not (an "odd waistcoat"). Morning suits will sometimes be a middle-tone gray. Morning suits, especially the lighter-toned ones, are considered slightly less formal than morning coat ensembles.

The following can optionally be worn or carried with morning dress:

• a top hat, either classic silk plush, or a modern Melusine fur (replacement for silk plush, as is it no longer in mainstream manufacture). Alternatively, a top hat made of fur felt or wool felt, is another common option.
• gloves of suede, chamois, or kid leather; the most traditional colour is lemon or grey
• grey or white spats
• a cane or umbrella
• a pocket watch on the waistcoat rather than at the lapel, or wrist watch
• a boutonnière

Full description

The morning coat can be black or Oxford grey herringbone wool with the tails of knee length. The formal ('spongebag') trousers worn with it are either 'cashmere' striped, or black and white checked.

The most traditional colours for a waistcoat are grey, buff (a yellowish tan colour), or black. A black morning coat with matching black waistcoat is the most formal option, being worn for funerals, memorial services, civic dress and diplomatic dress (replaing or supplementing Court Dress), with academic dress, or in government use in America. At social or festive occasions, e.g. races and weddings, a contrasting waistcoat is worn, usually dove grey or sometimes buff, although there has been a tendency towards 'fancy' waistcoats of multicoloured and embridered materials. Waistcoats may be either single-breasted or double-breasted with lapels. Sometimes a white slip is worn, which is a strip of fabric buttoned to the inside top of the waistcoat to simulate the effect of a paler under-waistcoat, though the actual wearing of two waistcoats was obsolete even for the late Victorians.

Formal trousers should not have turn-ups (cuffs in American English), and should have one or two forward pleats to each leg. Braces (suspenders in American English) should be worn to prevent the waistband from appearing beneath the waistcoat.

A white stiff collar is traditional, with the plain turn-down cutaway variety standard since the War; in this case a normal long tie is worn. Otherwise, a wing collar may be worn; the combination of long tie and wing collar is very dated, so these are paired with an Ascot, though even this has acquired negative connotations as dress hire companies used pre-tied or incorrect patterns for many years which has caused the configuration to be seen as an inferior or hired look. Because of this Debrett's, for example, considers the Ascot and wing collar inappropriate for weddings or morning dress. If the shirt has turn-down collars it usually has sleeves with double cuffs fastened with cufflinks as standard. If a wing collar is worn it should be with a single cuff shirt as in the past a starched stiff fronted shirt was worn with the cuffs also starched stiff as well as a starched detachable wing collar, worn with cufflinks and shirt studs (essentially, the same as the full evening dress shirt). Contemporary shirts often do not have a detachable collar at all. The most formal colour for a shirt is white, but if a coloured or striped shirt is worn, it should have contrasting white collar (and possibly cuffs). Traditional formal colourings are Wedgwood blue, solid or in thin vertical stripes.

Previously, a grey or (if at a funeral) a black neck-tie was obligatory. Now all colours are worn; in many clubs and societies the Club Tie is acceptable to distinguish members from guests at formal lunches and breakfasts. The original silver Macclesfield design (a small check) is still used particularly with cravats, and is often called a wedding tie.

Shoes should be of the traditional, black plain cap-toe Oxford type without brogueing, but not patent leather which is now reserved for evening formal wear. In the Victorian and Edwardian era button boots and Oxford boots were worn and these can be correctly worn with morning dress today. When worn at equestrian events, boots of equestrian origin such as jodhpur boots, George boots and Chelsea boots are also acceptable. Spats were once frequently seen with morning dress, but are now rarely worn.

Variants

Morning Grey

Slightly less formal, a morning suit can be worn, which has mid-grey matching morning coat, waistcoat, and trousers (all cut the same as above); being more relaxed, this is a traditional option for events in less formal settings such as Royal Ascot, and is now often worn to weddings as well.

Scottish Highland dress

For more details on this topic, see Scottish apparel.

Scottish Highland dress may also be worn at events requiring morning dress:

The morning suit version of Highland dress consists of:

• Black (or charcoal) semi-formal kilt jacket in superfine wool or barathea; Argyll-, Crail-, and Braemar-style jackets are suitable
• Five- or six-button waistcoat in black, grey, putty, or tartan
• Kilt
• White shirt with turndown collar, French cuffs, and cufflinks
• Tie in a single colour
• Black brogues
• Tartan, argyle, diced, or dark hose (white and off-white hose should be avoided)
• Flashes or garter ties
• Dress Sporran
• Dress Sgian dubh

Occasions

Men in morning dress for a wedding (1929)

Men wear morning dress when members of a wedding party. In common with court dress, mess dress, and white tie, morning dress is for prestigious and important social occasions. Despite its name, morning dress may be worn to afternoon social events before five o'clock, but not to events beginning after seven o'clock in the evening; the term "morning" is best understood as "daylight".

Black tie (evening dress) is the correct, equivalent formal dress for evening social events. The cutaway front of the morning tail coat differs from the evening tail coat (dress coat) in that the waist of former is cut obliquely while the waist of the latter is cut horizontally, and the tail is cut differently from the swallow tailcoat used for evening dress. The skirt waist construction of the coats is equestrian in origin, to ease the wearer's riding his horse. In the U.S., the morning coat is sometimes referred to as a cutaway coat.

In the UK, morning dress is worn to certain equestrian events (such as Royal Ascot and The Derby). It is also worn, both in the UK and certain other Commonwealth countries such as Australia and New Zealand, by the male members of a wedding party.^[1] In Europe, the groom sets the sartorial tone: the guests may wear morning dress if he does. In the U.S., morning dress is rare; it usually is worn in traditional weddings and political formal events, although the Kennedy inauguration of 1961 was the last use for that ceremony. In the American South, morning dress is commonly worn by a governor-elect when sworn to office.^{[citation needed]} The United States Solicitor General and deputies wear morning coats during oral argument before the United States Supreme Court, as does the Marshal and Clerk of the court during all sessions of the court.^[2]

In Iran, during the Shah's period, morning dress was used in formal events of royal court. But the Shah himself never wore this suit, though he often wore white tie in formal occasions, such as greeting with U.S. president or other kings and queens of world. In fiction or popular culture, it may be used to refer, possibly satirically, to a rich ruling class, for example in cartoons.^[3]

See also

• The stroller is a similar, but slightly less formal, dress code, hence not interchangeable with full morning dress. Where morning dress is the daylight equivalent of evening's black tie, the stroller is a formal revamp of the lounge suit.

Bibliography

• Apparel Arts magazine, an account of 1930s fashion and style; some issues more relevant than others, such as those reproduced with comment at The London Lounge.
• Antongiavanni, Nicholas (2006). The Suit: A Machiavellian Approach to Men's Style. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-089186-2. 
• Flusser, Alan (2002). Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-019144-9. 

Notes

1. ^ Elsie Burch Donald (1981). Debrett's Etiquette and Modern Manners. p. 56. ISBN 0-7472-0657-0. 
2. ^ William Suter, Clerk of the U.S. Supreme Court, interview, C-SPAN U.S. Supreme Court Week
3. ^ See also depictions in Puttin' on the Ritz.