Tailcoat

Atailcoatis a knee-lengthcoatcharacterised by a rear section of theskirt(known as thetails), with the front of the skirt cut away.

The tailcoat shares its historical origins in clothes cut for convenienthorse-ridingin theEarly Modern era.From the 18th century, however, tailcoats evolved into general forms ofdayandeveningformal wear,in parallel to how thelounge suitsucceeded thefrock coat(19th century) and thejustacorps(18th century).

Thus, in 21st-centuryWestern dress codesfor men, mainly two types of tailcoats have survived:

1. Dress coat,an evening wear item with a squarely cut-away front, worn for formalwhite tie
2. Morning coat(orcutawayinAmerican English), a day-wear item with a gradually tapered front cut away, worn for formalmorning dress

Incolloquial languagewithout further specification, "tailcoat" typically designates the former, that is the evening (1) dress coat for white tie.

History

Beau Brummellwears a Regency period dress coat as daytime dress. The coat is able to close and the tails are knee length.

Winfield Scottwearing a tailcoat at theBattle of Veracruz

A women's black wool tailcoat, 1939

Shadbelly

Further information:Shadbelly

Inequestrianism,a variant called a shadbelly is still worn in certain disciplines in its eighteenth-century role as daytime formalwear. It is basically a form of dress coat which is closer in cut to the early nineteenth-century style worn byBeau Brummelthan to the modern version worn with evening formal dress. The male version of the shadbelly is often called a "weaselbelly".

Levée dress coat

See also:Court uniform and dress in the United Kingdom

This is a type of dress coat traditionally worn withcourt dress,until the mid-twentieth century. It was made of black velvet and traditionally worn at court,levées,and evening state parties by those who did not wear uniforms. A version made of blackbaratheawas also worn asdiplomatic dress.

It was single breasted with a stand-up collar, with plain gauntlet cuffs, and two three-pointed flap pockets on the waist seam. It had six metal buttons at the front, and two decorative buttons at the back. The body of the coat was lined with black silk, and skirts with white silk. It was worn with breeches, black silk hose, white bow tie, white gloves, and court shoes (pumps) with steel buckles. The front of the coat was cut away squarely like a standard dress coat.

Military coatee

Further information:Coatee

Military issue tail coat, 1789

From c. 1790 until after theCrimean War,a red tail coat with short tails, known as a coatee, was part of the infantry uniform of theBritish army.The collar and cuffs were in the regimental colors and the coats had white braid on the front.Elite light infantry units like the 95th Rifles were issued short green coats to provide camouflage and ease of movement.

The Americans issued a similar uniform in dark blue to enlisted men during theWar of 1812.This remained in service until 1833 when it was replaced with ashell jacket.Officers continued to wear tail coats until after theMexican Warwhenfrock coatsbecame the standard field wear. By the time theM1858 uniformwas introduced tail coats had been relegated to full dress.

TheRoyal Navyhad an elaborate hierarchy of tailcoats for the officers, allowing further buttons and gilding according to rank and seniority. These were single-breasted for junior officers and double-breasted for those with the rank of lieutenant and above.

Highland coatee

Further information:Highland dress

This is worn with Highland dress, and has a square cut away front like a dress coat, but the tails are cut significantly shorter.

Footman's coat

Further information:Livery

This was worn aslivery,a servant's uniform. It was knee length with a sloped cut-away front like a morning coat. It was single breasted with a stand-up collar and gilt buttons. There were three-pronged side pockets similar in style to the levée dress coat.

Dress coat

Main article:White tie § Dress coat

Caricature of MrJohn Delacour(19th century) wearing dress coat withtop hatforwhite tie.

Adress coat,sometimes called aswallow-tailorclaw-hammercoat, is the coat that has, since the 1850s, come to be worn only in the evening by men as part of thewhite tiedress code,also known as eveningfull dress,forformalevening occasions. It is commonly referred to as just atailcoatin America, ortailsin Great Britain, but amongst tailors (both British and American) anddress historiansit is traditionally called adress coatto differentiate it from other types of tailcoats.

The modern dress coat is an evolution of the coat that was once both day and evening dress. It became increasingly popular from around the late 1790s and was particularly widespread during theBritish Regency,and in America in the 1830s to 1850s.The dress coat was supplanted in the 1840s as formal day wear by the frock coat, which was in turn replaced in the early twentieth century by themorning coat.In the Regency period, the dress coat with gilt buttons was always worn with non-matching trousers, pantaloons or breeches. Since the Victorian era, the modern dress coat for evening wear has been worn with matching trousers of the same cloth with two stripes of braiding down the side. The resulting suit is traditionally referred to by tailors as adress suit.

A dress coat is waist length in the front and sides, and has two long tails reaching to the knees in back. Sometimes there is a pocket on the inside to holdgloves.Since around the 1840s the dress coat has lacked outside side pockets, but prior to this it took flapped side pockets. Since the early twentieth century, it has become acceptable in America to have a welted pocket on the outside of the chest to hold a pocket square, but prior to this dress coats lacked any outer pockets. The front of the skirt is squarely cut away. Since around the 1830s the coat has been constructed with a waist seam that allows greater waist suppression. From theVictorian era,therevershas taken facings in silk (grosgrainorsatin) on thelapels.Although it is double-breasted, since the 1870s, the dress coat no longer fastens in the front.As a result, although there are two rows of buttons, these are all non-functional, serving only a decorative function.

As part of modernwhite tie,a black dress coat is worn with a stiff, white wing-collardress shirt,with a plain starched (pique or plain-weave) bib that takes shirt studs,single cuffsfastened withcufflinks(of a white metal); a matching white marcella cotton or satin silk bowtie and whitewaistcoat;black trousers with one or two silk galon; and black oxfords (without a toe cap) orpumps;the shoes must be polished to a mirror shine or be made ofpatent leatherand are worn with black, over-the-calf silk socks. Additionally, a top hat, silk dress scarf, and white dress gloves are either seen as acceptable or mandatory. A gentleman's top hat was traditionally made of silk plush, although the last supplies of this material have now been exhausted, so inferior hats are made of silk or felt cloth.

Morning coat

Main article:Morning dress § Morning coat

Two men wearing morning coats at a wedding. 1929

A morning coat is a single-breasted coat, with the front parts usually meeting at one button in the middle, and curving away gradually into a pair of tails behind, topped by two ornamental buttons on the waist seam. The lapels are usuallypointed(American English peak), notstep(notch), since the coat is now only worn as formalwear. When it was first introduced, the step lapel was common, since it was worn as half dress. The coat can be grey or black as part ofmorning dress,and is usually worn with striped, or very occasionally checked, trousers.

The morning coat may also be worn as part of a morning suit, which is mid-grey with matching trousers and waistcoat.

A modern traditional morning tailcoat, made of mohair

The modernmorning coat(orcutawayin American English) is a man's coat worn as the principal item in morning dress. The name derives from morning nineteenth-centuryhorseback ridingexercise for gentlemen. It was regarded as an informal form ofhalf dress.Gradually it became acceptable as an alternative to the frock coat for formal day wear or full dress. Since the nineteenth century it is normally only seen at weddings, at formal baptisms, and in England and Australia, at races such asRoyal Ascot,the Derbyand theVictoria Derbywhere it is worn with a contrasting waistcoat, usually light grey or sometimes "fancy", and perhaps in club colours. It is very occasionally seen at funerals but more often it is used as day wear at formal luncheons, especially civic occasions under formal gowns, when worn with a black matching waistcoat (vest). Male members of thecabinet of Japanwear it in their first public appearance following the formation of the cabinet.

The Marshal and Clerk of theUnited States Supreme Courtwear morning coats when the justices are appearing in public wearing their traditional robes, for example when the court is in session, or when attending thePresident'sState of the Union address.At one time all attorneys appearing before the court wore morning coats but they now wear standard business attire. TheUnited States Solicitor General(when the office is held by a male) and his or her male deputies continue the tradition of wearing morning dress when arguing before the court.

In modern American English, morning coats are referred to ascutaway coats.

References

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