The evening suit, and when to wear it

The evening suit is a strict formal suit, it is warn to a white tie event. It is acceptable to wear such a suit to events such as, state dinners and hunt balls. This type of suit has remained largely unchanged since the 1840/1870's ere.

The suit consists of a black dress coat with silk facings, this type of dress coat has been referred to as an evening tailcoat, and therefore it should be made of wool. It is not uncommon to get the dress coat in a dark blue colour. the trousers should be of the same material and colour, however in the united kingdom it is conventional to have two narrow satin stripes on the sides of the trouser leg, where as in the united states this and one single thick strand of satin is acceptable. As an option the trousers can be warn with braces to keep the trousers up instead of a belt, belts should not be warn.

A white stiff front shirt and a white stiff winged collar should be warn, these should be made from cotton. A white bow tie is warn and should also be cotton, just like the low cut waistcoat. the waistcoat most commonly today should not be visible below the cut away of the coat, this has been made fashionable since the 1920's, however the more traditional look is that the waistcoat should be seen below the cut away by one or two centre meters. The trouser waistline should never be visible, in either style. It is possible for the waistcoat and bow tie to be made from silk in modern society. Black court pumps are a must with, of course, black socks.

The dinner suit, and when to wear it

Dinner suits are the suits worn at black tie events. A black tie event covers many different occasions however the dinner suit should be worn after 6pm, something which is increasingly being forgotten as more people wear dinner suits to weddings. The dress code is not strict unlike white tie events. However there are distinctions between the traditional dinner suit and any other type of suit, some of these will be outlined now.

The jacket must have silk facings on a shawl lapel, however peaked and notched lapels are also acceptable, a notched lapel is seen as being less formal although all were created at the start of the dinner suits history. Black trousers are worn, these have a matching silk strip of material on each side covering the stitching. It may be interesting to note traditional dinner suit trousers should not have belt buckles. It is also recognised that a black cummerbund should be worn or a low cut waistcoat. It is also seen that a white 'dress shirt' with cuff links should be worn also.


The picture shows a less formal version of the dinner suit, typically these days a suit styled like this is worn to a wedding. A traditional suit would actually have a bow tie made of silk and the same colour as the silk facings on the lapel.

As to any of you thinking that this sounds very similar to a tuxedo, i would agree as they are in fact the same thing, tuxedo is simply the American name for an English dinner Suit.

Anthony

The morning suit, and when to wear it

This article will focus on fashion, and more specifically the morning suit, I will outline different ways to wear a morning suit and I shall also examine the traditional colours and materials used in the production of this suit. 

The morning suit. The 'coat' of the morning suit should made of herringbone patterned wool and tails of knee length. The colour should be black or grey, although different shades of grey are available, the lighter the grey the less formal the suit becomes, whereas black is the most formal of all. Trousers should be made out of a heavy wool and be either black and grey striped, referred to as cashmere striped or a black and white check. A waistcoat should also be worn with traditional colours being black, tan and grey, however in modern times many elaborate and colourful waistcoats are commonly worn. 

A black morning coat with a black waistcoat is the most formal morning suit one could wear, and so is worn on a formal occasion or a time to show respect such as a funeral. At a social event morning dress tends to be more grey in nature and these days would often include an elaborate waistcoat. This less formal morning dress is suited to a day at the races, or a wedding. It is important to remember that at a social event the waistcoat should be of a different colour to the morning coat to avoid looking to formal.A top hat is not necessary but I find is essential to the classic look. 

A classic top hat is made of silk plush, but more common these days are materials such as Melusine fur or wool/fur felt. 

Anthony