Morning coat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A morning coat or cutaway is a man's coat worn as the principal item in morning dress. The name derives form the fact that a common form of morning exercise for gentlemen in the nineteenth century was horseriding and because of this it was regarded as a more casual form of half dress. Gradually it came to be increasingly acceptable as an alternative to the frock coat for formal day wear or full dress, eventually replacing it. It has become increasingly rarely worn since the 19th century, and today is normally only seen at weddings, very formal funerals and, in England, race meetings such as Royal Ascot and the Derby. Also, the United States Solicitor General typically wears it when arguing before the United States Supreme Court.
A morning coat is a single-breasted coat, the front parts usually meeting at one button in the middle, and curving away into a pair of tails behind. The reason for the cutaway front of the skirt is to allow the wearer to ride a horse more readily. The cutaway front is curved for a morning coat and horizontal for the tail coat. The lapels are usually peaked, not notched, and there are two buttons in the back of the waist. The coat can be grey or black as part of morning dress, and is usually worn with striped trousers. For weddings only the groom and bride's father is traditionally allowed to wear a grey morning coat, though this rule is less strictly enforced today.
The term 'morning suit' is sometimes mistakenly used in the assumption that all formal dress constitutes a 'suit', but the term 'suit' is derived from the French word 'suivre' or 'to follow' because the coat, waistcoat and trousers of the lounge suit that emerged late in the nineteenth century all matched each other.
