thumb|From right to left: Japanese emperor [[Hirohito, United States president Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy in 1983, both men in morning coats with formal trousers, known as morning dress]]

Morning dress, also known as formal day dress, is the formal Western dress code for day attire, consisting chiefly of a morning coat, waistcoat, and formal trousers for men, and an appropriate gown for women. The correct hat would be a formal top hat, or if on less spacious audience settings, optionally a collapsible equivalent opera hat.

Men may also wear a popular variant, where all parts (morning coat or waistcoat, and trousers) are the same colour and material, often grey, and usually called "morning suit" or "morning grey" to distinguish it; considered properly appropriate only to festive functions, such as summer weddings and horse races, which consequently makes it slightly less formal.

Debrett's states that morning dress should not be specified as the dress code for events starting after 18:00 (6:00 p.m.). If a formal event will commence at or after 18:00, white tie should be specified instead. The semi-formal daytime counterpart of this code is the black lounge suit.

Morning dress is generally restricted to certain weddings, royal, government, or municipal audiences, and social season events, e.g. horse races. It may also be seen sometimes worn at church services, as well as fraternal orders, and gentlemen's clubs.

History

thumb|[[Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901) in 1844, wearing a double-breasted cutaway]]

thumb|Caricature of [[Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon in Vanity Fair, 11 September 1869]]

thumb|Morning dress fashion (middle), as opposed to [[frock coats (left and right) (1848)]]

The name originated from the practice of gentlemen in the 19th century riding a horse in the morning with a cutaway front, single-breasted morning coat. The modern 20th-century morning dress was originally a more casual form of half dress, but as the 19th 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).

Composition

Morning dress consists of:

  • a morning coat (the morning cut of tailcoat), now always single breasted with link closure (as on some dinner jackets) or one button (or very rarely two) and with peaked lapels, may include silk piping on the edges of the coat and lapels (and cuffs on older models with turnup coat sleeves).
  • a waistcoat, which matches the material of the coat.
  • 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 double-cuffed shirt; this combination is sometimes 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 cannot be seen).

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 it is 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

Morning suit

If the trouser cloth matches the coat, the ensemble becomes a morning suit. The waistcoat may also match, or not (an "odd waistcoat"). These are considered slightly less formal than morning coat ensembles, especially in lighter tones. Sometimes referred to as "morning grey dress", 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.

Morning coat

The modern morning coat is single-breasted and usually has peaked lapels. It is usually closed with a single button It is traditionally in either black or Oxford grey herringbone wool,

The coat may feature ribbon braiding around the edges of the collar, lapels, and down around the tails; it may also be present on the hook vent, breast pocket, and sleeves. Nicholas Storey advises that braiding should be avoided for very formal morning wear.

Waistcoat

A black morning coat with matching black waistcoat is the most formal option, being worn for court, memorial services, civic dress and diplomatic dress (replacing or supplementing court dress), with academic dress, or in government use in America.

At social or festive occasions, such as horse races and weddings, a contrasting waistcoat is usually worn. The most traditional colours are dove grey, light grey (including pearl grey (both yellowish tan colours), duck-egg blue, There has been a tendency towards 'fancy' waistcoats Other colours sold by traditional English tailors include pastels such as powder blue, pale pink, pale green, and other pastels. Generally, traditional waistcoats are made from linen, silk, though the actual wearing of two waistcoats was obsolete even for the late Victorians.

Trousers

thumb|[[Hamide Ayşe Sultan (1887–1960) with her husband in morning coat and formal trousers]]

The formal ('spongebag') trousers worn with it are either 'cashmere' striped, or black and white checked. and have either flat-fronts or one to two forward pleats to each leg. Braces (suspenders in American English) may be worn Less common (and less formal) alternatives to striped trousers are houndstooth check,) worn with a long tie. Unfortunately, this combination has acquired negative connotations because most dress hire companies have used pre-tied or incorrect patterns for many years, which has caused the configuration to be seen as an inferior or hired look. Consequently, Debrett's (and the late Hardy Amies) consider the wing collar and ascot to be inappropriate for weddings or morning dress, reserving wing collars for white tie. Morning dress shirts (other than the collar) are usually solid in colour

Neck wear

Previously, a grey or (if at a funeral) a black necktie 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. Wearing a silver-grey silk tie is the usual practice at royal

If worn, cravats may be tied in either a formal dress knot (Ascot knot) which is secured with a cravat pin and should therefore be treated with caution in any context in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.

Bow ties may be worn as an alternative to the necktie. Although there are photographs of the Duke of Windsor and Sir Winston Churchill wearing bow ties with morning dress, and Debrett's does not advise against the wearing of one, it is not expressly provided as an option by Debrett's. Some style authorities, including Bernhard Roetzel and Nicholas Antongiavanni, advise against the wearing of bow ties with morning dress. but may include a single line of tooling across the toe cap. The shoes should not be patent leather, 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. Socks should be black or grey.

Accessories

Headgear

thumb|[[A. Carnegie and Lord Weardale. While the top hat would be considered the standard, alternatives occur; here a bowler hat.]]

In the Commonwealth of Nations, traditional black, or grey (less formal, but becoming more widely accepted), top hats are considered an optional accessory for weddings. However, hats remain compulsory in the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot.

Etiquette: "morning dress"

thumb|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 six o'clock in the evening; the term "morning" is best understood as "daylight".

In Europe, the groom sets the sartorial tone: the guests may wear morning dress if he does.

Equivalents for men

Following the etiquette of formal wear, morning dress being its civilian day wear, there are several equivalents.

White tie 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 the 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.

Equivalents for women

Women should wear 'smart daywear', such as a smart day dress or a skirt worn with a jacket. Strapless, off-the-shoulder, one shoulder, halter neck, sheer, bardot, and spaghetti straps are not permitted in the Royal Enclosure at the Royal Ascot Tights should always be worn.

Additionally, morning dress may be seen at some royal or governmental audiences and social season events (e.g. horse races such as the Royal Enclosure of Royal Ascot, the Queen's Stand of Epsom Derby, or the Victoria Derby in Australia). It may also be seen sometimes worn at church services in St Paul's Cathedral, London, and St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh. Other occasions include certain City of London institutions including fraternal orders, gentlemen's clubs, livery companies and guilds. It also exists as school uniforms at some of United Kingdom's most traditional schools, such as Harrow (on Sundays) and Eton.

United States

thumb|[[Joseph Douglass in morning dress with grandfather Frederick Douglass in frock coat (circa 1890s)]]

In the U.S., the morning coat is sometimes referred to as a cutaway coat.

By tradition, the Solicitor General of the United States (SG) wears striped pants and a morning coats when delivering oral argument before the Supreme Court of the United States. The deputy U.S. solicitors general also wear morning dress when attending the Supreme Court, as do other Justice Department attorneys. This contrasts with the attire of other attorneys, who usually wear ordinary business suits when arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court. Elizabeth Prelogar followed Kagan's precedent upon becoming SG in 2021.

Morning dress has recurred in the traditional Easter parade associated with Fifth Avenue in New York City.

See also

  • The stroller is a similar, but slightly less formal, dress code, hence not interchangeable with full morning dress. Whereas morning dress is the daylight equivalent of evening's white tie, the stroller is the daylight equivalent of black tie and is essentially a more-formal lounge suit (indeed, in Britain it was historically referred to as a "black lounge suit").

Notes

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.
  • Morning Dress Guide – Informational site dedicated to formal morning dress only
  • Informational overview of Morning Wear by the Black Tie Guide
  • "The Morning Dress Guide," Andrews & Pygott