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 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. 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
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, but as it took over from the frock coat in formality, it began to be made with the more formal pointed lapels.Composition
Morning dress consists of:- a morning coat, now always single breasted with link closure or one button and with peaked lapels, may include silk piping on the edges of the coat and lapels.
- 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 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.
- a top hat, either classic silk plush, or a modern Melusine fur. 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
Morning coat
The modern morning coat is single-breasted and usually has peaked lapels. It is usually closed with a single button but may have a link-front closure instead. It is traditionally in either black or Oxford grey herringbone wool, which should not be too heavy a weight, with curved front edges sloping back into tails of knee length.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, funerals, memorial services, civic dress and diplomatic 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, buff or camel, duck-egg blue, and occasionally white. There has been a tendency towards 'fancy' waistcoats of multicoloured and embroidered materials such as brocade, especially at weddings, although brightly coloured waistcoats may be considered garish. 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, or wool.
Waistcoats may be either single-breasted, with or without lapels, or double-breasted with lapels. Single-breasted models with lapels usually feature a step collar and are worn with the bottom button undone, whilst double-breasted models commonly have either a shawl collar or a peak lapel and are worn fully buttoned. In either case, Debrett's advise against wearing backless waistcoats because they do not look as smart as real ones. 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.
Trousers
The formal trousers worn with it are either 'cashmere' striped, or black and white checked. Formal trousers should not have turn-ups, and have either flat-fronts or one to two forward pleats to each leg. Braces may be worn to prevent the waistband from appearing beneath the waistcoat if required. Belts should not be worn with morning dress. Less common alternatives to striped trousers are houndstooth check, Prince of Wales check, and grey flannel trousers, amongst others.Shirt
Since the Second World War, in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Realms, the traditional shirt for morning dress has been a white or light-coloured shirt with double cuffs and a plain white stiff turn-down collar worn with a long tie. A detachable collar is no longer considered to be necessary and is very formal by modern standards.Alternatively, a wing collar may be worn; the combination of long tie and wing collar is very dated, so these are instead paired with an ascot. 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 consider the wing collar and ascot to be inappropriate for weddings or morning dress, reserving wing collars for white tie.
If a wing collar is worn, the collar should be of the starched, detachable, variety and also include starched single cuffs all in white. This is because, in the past, a starched stiff-fronted shirt was worn with starched cuffs and a starched detachable wing collar, worn with cufflinks and shirt studs; it is essentially the same as a plain-fronted full evening dress shirt. Contemporary shirts often do not have a detachable collar at all which, provided they have the same height and stiffness as the detachable type, are considered to be an acceptable alternative.
The most formal colour for a shirt is white. Alternatively, a coloured or striped shirt with a contrasting white collar and white cuffs may be worn. Traditional formal shirtings are usually light-coloured and may include cream, blue, pink, lavender, peach, salmon, yellow, or pastel green. Morning dress shirts are usually solid in colour or have thin vertical stripes but may have a slightly bolder pattern such as a houndstooth or glencheck.
Neck wear
Previously, a grey or 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 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 and other formal events. Although there is no longer a strict rule governing the colour and pattern of ties that are worn to weddings these days, garish options are inadvisable. The English etiquette authority, Debrett's, dictate that smart woven silk ties are preferred to cravats although stocks and cravats may be worn as an alternative. The American etiquette authority, The Emily Post Institute, states that either a tie or a dress ascot may be worn with a morning coat. If a tie is worn, Debrett's advise men to tie it with either a four-in-hand or half-Windsor rather than a Windsor knot.If worn, cravats may be tied in either a formal dress knot which is secured with a cravat pin or a slightly less formal ruched knot which resembles a four-in-hand tie. A wing collar and cravat may be worn with a black coat but not with a grey one. Cravats have been proscribed in the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot since 2012 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. Bow ties have been proscribed in the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot since 2019 and should therefore be treated with caution in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. Some style authorities, including Bernhard Roetzel and Nicholas Antongiavanni, advise against the wearing of bow ties with morning dress. Others, such as Nicholas Storey, provide that bow ties may be worn so long as they are obviously not an evening bow tie.