Morning dress
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Morning dress is the daytime form of men's formal dress. 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. It 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 and in the Edwardian era took over 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 notched lapels but as it took over from the frock coat in formality it began to be made with the more formal peaked lapels. Morning dress is most frequently seen worn by male members of a wedding party. In common with court dress, mess dress and white tie, morning dress is usually reserved for particularly prestigious or important occasions. Despite the name, it may be worn for events taking place before 5pm but is not worn past 7pm at the latest. The correct equivalent formal dress for evening events is white tie (also called evening dress). The cutaway front of the morning coat differs from the tail coat (or dress coat) in that the tail coat is cut horizontally across while the morning coat is cut at an oblique angle. The cutaway construction of the front of the skirt of both coats has equestrian origins, and made it easier for the wearer to ride a horse. In the United States morning coats are traditionally usually referred to as a 'cutaway'.
Morning dress is still commonly worn in the United Kingdom for equestrian events such as the Royal Ascot, weddings, funerals and state events. It is also worn by members of the wedding party at weddings through much of the Commonwealth such as Australia and New Zealand. In Europe, if the groom is in morning dress guests will also wear morning dress. Morning dress is still worn to funerals and state events in many European countries. Morning dress has become rare in the United States and is worn only at the most traditional weddings only by members of the wedding party. The last president of the United States to wear morning dress to his inauguration was John F Kennnedy.
Just as evening dress comes in a formal (white tie) and a semi-formal (black tie) version, so too does daytime formal wear have a semi-formal equivalent in the form of the stroller. Just as the dinner jacket is a [[lounge suit] ] version of evening dress, the stroller has a lounge suit coat in grey or black - all other features are the same as for morning dress. The stroller has largely overtaken full morning dress in the United States.
A common mistake is to call morning dress (or for that matter any formalwear) a "tuxedo" (often contracted to just "tux" in the United States) but this expression should be strictly reserved in American English to denote the dinner jacket worn for black tie events in the evening. It is likewise incorrect to wear morning dress to any evening formal or semi-formal event.
Morning dress consists of:
- a morning coat
- a waistcoat (AmE: vest), which may be either single-breasted or double-breasted
- a pair of formal trousers, worn with braces (AmE: suspenders)
- a double-cuffed (AmE: French cuff) shirt
- a stiff white collar
- a cravat (AmE: ascot tie) or tie (at weddings the more old fashioned formal cravat held tidy with a cravat pin is commonly worn with a winged collar shirt)
- black dress shoes
- sometimes a black silk or grey top hat
- sometimes formal gloves in suede, chamois or kid leather
- sometimes a cane
The morning coat is usually black, and the skirt of knee length. The formal trousers worn with it are grey striped. For less formal ceremonial occasions such as weddings a lighter coloured morning coat, a non-matching lighter coloured waistcoat and grey striped trousers are worn. Light grey coats are especially popular on the Thursday of the Royal Ascot race meeting. Traditionally, only the groom and bride's father are allowed to wear a grey morning coat to a wedding and all other guest wear black morning coats, though it is rare to see this rule enforced today.
The most traditional colours for a waistcoat are grey or buff (a yellowish tan colour), with white as another alternative. A black morning coat with matching black waistcoat is the most formal option, being worn for funerals, memorial services, diplomatic dress, and with academic regalia. The United States Solicitor General, for example, wears a black morning coat with matching black waistcoat and striped trousers when he argues before the Supreme Court of the United States. Sometimes a white slip, an under-waistcoat just showing inside the top opening of the waistcoat, is worn. Nowadays coloured and patterned waistcoats are sometimes seen, but these are really only considered suitable for weddings.
The trousers should not have turn-ups (cuffs), and should have one pleat to each leg. Braces (American English: suspenders) should be worn to prevent the waistband from appearing beneath the waistcoat.
A white stiff collar is worn, normally of the plain turn-down variety in which case a standard long tie is worn. Apart from at weddings, in most situations a long tie and turn-down collar have become more standard. With a cravat (AmE: ascot tie) a winged collar is worn. If the shirt has turn-down collars it should have sleeves with double cuffs fastened with cufflinks. If a winged collar shirt is worn it should be with a single cuff fastened with cufflinks, with detachable collar and cuffs being the more strictly traditional option. 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 cuffs.
Previously, a grey or (if at a funeral) a black tie was obligatory. Now all colours are worn.
Shoes should be of the traditional, black plain captoe Oxford type without brogueing, but not patent leather which is 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 and Chelsea boots are also acceptable. Spats were once frequently seen with morning dress, but are now rarely worn, except as historical costume.
