Morning Dress is the
English and
American set of
formal dress attire that is traditionally worn before nightfall. It is related to
evening dress, which is usually worn after dark.
Morning dress attire consists of a few specific clothing articles. The most unique article is the jacket, whose design is derived from that of the
frock coat, black or
charcoal gray, with a long skirt in the back, cutting away to form an
oblong tail as it suppresses the hips, and buttoning at mid-waist. Under the jacket is worn either a single- or double-breasted
waistcoat, usually matching in color, and a white, stiff-collared shirt with a
necktie. The
trousers are almost as interesting as the jacket: They are striped in
charcoal gray and black, and to be worn only with
suspenders. Black
dress shoes are a must, and, if it pleases, a
cane and
gloves can also be worn without the commission of any morning dress
faux pas. You can even wear a gray or black
top hat.
Morning dress, or, at the very least, the
morning coat, was developed from the
British equestrian tradition. In the mid-19th century, when modern morning dress was established, men might have worn
frock coats on their morning horse ride, should the jackets have been suited to be worn so; but for the sake of ease,
tailors began to modify
frock coats to accomodate morning riders by gradually cutting away at the front panels of the jacket from behind -- forming the rear skirt. It's true, the rest of the attire carried over from morning riding dress, which was, until the mid-19th century, considered much less formal than
evening dress; but with the new coat, the whole outfit became accepted by a more progressive fashion world as
formal dress, which is just what it is today.
In the
United States, the
stroller jacket has overtaken the
morning coat in popularity as
formal morning dress. It is considered by most to be less formal than the
morning coat, and looks something like a scant
tuxedo jacket. It is also usually worn with a
waistcoat, dress shirt and tie, but, unlike the
morning coat, is often worn with solid-colored
trousers, and the
waistcoat is often white, or some color dissimilar to the jacket's.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_dress
http://www.lahacal.org/gentleman/morning.html