A morning coat is a formal jacket worn as part of men’s morning dress, with a cut front for ease of horse riding. It is typically worn with a waistcoat, striped or checked trousers, dress shirt, tie, pocket square, and black dress shoes. Women’s morning dress requires a knee-length or longer day dress, hat, and gloves.
A morning coat is the jacket part of a men’s morning dress, a formal dress code during the day. The coat differs from other tuxedo coats in the “cut” front feature. The front half of the coat stops at about waist height, and the back remains long with traditional tails that hang to about the knee.
The morning cut of the coat is single-breasted with one or two buttons, although the two-button variation is rare. It was once acceptable for the lapels on a morning coat to be notched or pointed, but now that it is considered formal daywear, the lapels are almost always pointed or peaked. It has its origins in horsemanship; The cut front allowed the rider to more easily mount and control his horse.
The rest of the men’s morning dress usually consists of a waistcoat or waistcoat, striped or checked trousers with one or two pleats and no cuffs, a wing-collared dress shirt or turndown collar with tie or necktie, a pocket square or handkerchief and black dress shoes or boots with plain dark socks. The most traditional color for morning dress is grey, but a tan-yellowish color called “buff” is also common. A black coat and black dress is worn for funerals, academics, and occasional government use in America. Traditionally, the tie that accompanied a morning jacket and dress shirt was only black or gray, but it has become popular and acceptable to wear any color tie. A small check pattern called the Macclesfield design is often used for weddings.
The dress shirt that is tucked under the morning coat is most often white. Wedgwood blue is sometimes seen as well. Striped or colored shirts are becoming more acceptable, but in these cases, a white collar is preferred.
The morning dress is usually worn for weddings, government functions, royal functions, and some equestrian events such as ascot. Some high schools may require morning dress as their uniform. Morning dress is not to be worn after 7 pm. At that time, the corresponding evening dress code would be considered a white tie, not a morning dress.
In the United States, the men’s morning vest is often referred to as a “pea coat.” Ronald Reagan wore a morning gown as part of his presidential swearing in ceremony. He was the last president of the United States to include it in the ceremony.
The morning dress code for women requires that they wear a knee-length or longer day dress. A cocktail dress for the day would not be appropriate. The morning dress for women can also include a hat and gloves.
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