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Atailcoat is a knee-lengthcoat characterised 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-riding in theEarly Modern era. From the 18th century, however, tailcoats evolved into general forms of day and eveningformal wear, in parallel to how thelounge suit succeeded thefrock coat (19th century) and thejustacorps (18th century).
Thus, in 21st-centuryWestern dress codes for men, mainly two types of tailcoats have survived:
Incolloquial language without further specification, "tailcoat" typically designates the former, that is the evening (1) dress coat for white tie.
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 Brummel than to the modern version worn with evening formal dress. The male version of the shadbelly is often called a "weaselbelly".
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 blackbarathea was 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.[1]
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.[2] 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.[3] Officers continued to wear tail coats until after theMexican War whenfrock coats became the standard field wear. By the time theM1858 uniform was introduced tail coats had been relegated to full dress.
TheRoyal Navy had 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.
This is worn with Highland dress, and has a square cut away front like a dress coat, but the tails are cut significantly shorter.
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.
Adress coat, sometimes called aswallow-tail orclaw-hammer coat, 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, forformal evening occasions. It is commonly referred to as just atailcoat in America, ortails in Great Britain, but amongst tailors (both British and American) anddress historians it is traditionally called adress coat to 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.[4] 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, therevers has taken facings in silk (grosgrain orsatin) on thelapels. Although it is double-breasted, since the 1870s, the dress coat no longer fastens in the front.[5] 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 cuffs fastened 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 leather and 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.
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.
The modernmorning coat (orcutaway in American English) is a man's coat worn as the principal item in morning dress. The name derives from morning nineteenth-centuryhorseback riding exercise 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 Derby and theVictoria Derby where 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 Japan wear it in their first public appearance following the formation of the cabinet.
The Marshal and Clerk of theUnited States Supreme Court wear 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.[6]
In modern American English, morning coats are referred to ascutaway coats.
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