// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy was the western dress code a cowboy? It was a shirt tale.
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Western dress codes are a set of dress codes detailing what clothes are worn for what occasion that originated in Western Europe and the United States in the 19th century. Conversely, since most cultures have intuitively applied some level equivalent to the more formal Western dress code traditions, these dress codes are simply a versatile framework, open to amalgamation of international and local customs. This versatility has made this scale of formality a practical international formality scale.
History
[edit]Historical definitions
[edit]_1902.jpg)
The background of traditional contemporary Western dress codes as fixed in 20th century relied on several steps of replacement of preexisting formal wear, while in turn increasing the formality levels of the previously less formal alternatives. Thus was the case with the ceasing of the justacorps, extensively worn from the 1660s until the 1790s, followed by the same fate of the 18th century frock (not to be confused with frock coat), in turn followed by the frock coat.
Full dress, half dress, and undress
[edit]Morning dress, white tie, black tie and dark suit have roots in 19th century customs subsequent to the replacement of the 18th century generic justaucorps, and has remained fixed defined since the 20th century. The 19th century frock coat rarely occurs except as formal alternative. For women, interpretations have fluctuated more dynamically according to fashion.
In the 19th century, during the Victorian and Edwardian periods, the principal classifications of clothing were full dress and undress, and, less commonly the intermediate half dress. Full dress covered the most formal option: frock coat for day wear, and dress coat (white tie) for evening wear (sometimes with supplementary alternative being a full dress uniform independent of what time of the day). As such, full dress may still appear in use designating formal wear.
When morning dress became common (in the modern sense, using a morning tailcoat rather than a frock coat), it was considered less formal than a frock coat, and even when the frock coat was increasingly phased out, morning dress never achieved full dress status.[citation needed] Therefore, in the 21st century, full dress often refers to white tie.[1]
Today's black tie (originally dinner clothes) was initially described as informal wear, while the "lounge suit," now standard business wear, was originally considered (as its name suggests) casual wear. Half dress, when used, was variously applied at different times, but was used to cover modern morning dress (the term morning dress is fairly undescriptive and has not always meant modern morning dress). Undress (not to be confused with nudity) in turn was similarly loose in meaning, corresponding to anything from a dressing gown to a lounge suit or its evening equivalent of dinner clothes (now one of the more formal dress codes seen in many Western regions).[2]
Historical etiquette
[edit]For both men and women, hats corresponding to the various levels of formality exist. As supplements to the standard dress codes, headgear can be worn, though certain settings have etiquette regarding this; for example, in Christian churches, traditional norms have enjoined the wearing of a headcovering (such as a veil or cap) by women, while men are prohibited from wearing a hat.[3][4][5]
Ceremonial dress, military uniform, religious clothing, academic dress, and folk costume appropriate to the formality level are encouraged, but face-covering garments (niqab, hijab) are not always accepted. France outlawed the public use of burqas in 2010 and the European court of law seconded the law because "uncovered faces encourage citizens to live together" (see also burqa by country).[6]
White tie
[edit]Typical events: State dinners[1] and state banquets[7][1], royal balls, certain other formal balls[7], livery dinners[1]etc.
Morning dress
[edit]Typical events: Traditional weddings[1][7], formal memorial services[1][7], certain royal daytime events where the Head of State is present[1][7] etc.
Black tie
[edit]Typical events: Black-tie dinners[1][7], certain opera festivals[1], theatre opening nights, charity balls etc. There is some variation in style depending on whether it is summer, spring, winter or autumn. See black tie for more details.
Typical events: Diplomatic and business meetings[1][7], weddings[1] and funerals[1], many social occasions, everyday wear
Casual wear
[edit]Casual wear encompasses business casual, smart casual, etc.
Categorization
[edit]Classifications are divided into Full dress formal wear (full dress), Half dress formal wear(half dress), Full dress informal wear[citation needed] (Informal/Undress), and Half dress informal wear[citation needed] (Semi-informal/Professional Casual; also known as business wear). Anything below this level is referred to as casual wear, which may be referred to as leisurewear or loungewear.
The term "casual" is sometimes used in combinations, such as "smart casual" or "business casual", in order to indicate higher expectations than none at all, although these classifications usually do not indicate a dress code being actually "casual" at all.
Civilian Wear / Local Wear
[edit]| Dress code Synonyms |
Time of day | Clothing | Local Wear (Folk Costumes, Traditional Attire, etc.) |
Supplementary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | ||||
| Full evening dress[1] e.g. "Evening dress[1]/White tie[1][7]/Full dress[1]" |
Evening | White tie | Ball gown or a full-length evening dress/evening gown[1][7] | Formal folk costumes | Ceremonial dress, orders and medals, etc. |
| Morning dress[1][7] e.g. "Morning dress[1]/Formal day dress[1]" |
Day | Morning dress | Smart clothing[1][7] | Formal folk costumes | |
| Black tie[7][1]
e.g. "Black tie/Dress for dinner[1]" |
Evening | Black tie | Evening gown[1][7] or “elegant” trousers[1][7] | Semi-formal folk costumes | |
| Lounge suit[7][1] e.g. "Dark suit[1]/Lounge suits" |
Day or evening | Standard suits | Day: Skirt and jacket[1] or trouser suit[1] or a day dress[1]but no firm expectations[7] Evening: A cocktail dress that has sleeves[1] or an evening dress[1] but no firm expectations[7] |
Informal folk costumes | |
| Smart casual[1][7] e.g. "Smart casual/Semi-informal/Professional Casual" |
Day or evening | Jacket[1][7] or blazer[1][7], unevenly-coloured suits, | Semi-informal folk costumes | ||
| Casual | Day or evening | Sportswear and Streetwear | Casual folk costumes | ||
| Formality Dress Code |
Military | Law Enforcement & First Responders |
Education | Corporate & Professional Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full dress formal wear | Full dress uniform | Full dress uniform | Academic full regalia | N/A |
| Half dress formal wear | Mess dress uniform | Class A uniform | N/A | Business formal |
| Full dress informal wear | Service dress uniform | Class B uniform | N/A | Smart casual |
| Half dress informal wear | Combat uniform | Class C uniform | School uniform | Business casual |
| Casual wear | N/A | N/A | Dress down | Casual Friday |
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Debretts (2026). "Deconstructing dress codes". Retrieved 2026-07-25.
- ↑ Kent State University Museum (2002). "Of Men & Their Elegance". Archived from the original on 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
- ↑ Hunt, Margaret (11 June 2014). Women in Eighteenth Century Europe. Taylor & Francis. p. 58. ISBN 9781317883876.
Today many people associate rules about veiling and headscarves with the Muslim world, but in the eighteenth century they were common among Christians as well, in line with 1 Corinthians 11:4-13 which appears not only to prescribe headcoverings for any women who prays or goes to church, but explicitly to associate it with female subordination, which Islamic veiling traditions do not typically do. Many Christian women wore a head-covering all the time, and certainly when they went outside; those who did not would have been barred from church and likely harassed on the street. … Veils were, of course, required for Catholic nuns, and a veil that actually obscured the face was also a mark of elite status throughout most of Europe. Spanish noblewomen wore them well into the eighteenth century, and so did Venetian women, both elites and non-elites. Across Europe almost any woman who could afford them also wore them to travel.
- ↑ Yarborough, Kaitlyn (20 May 2022). "How To Know When It's Rude To Wear Your Hat Indoors, According to Etiquette". Southern Living. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
Hat etiquette also has roots in Christianity, as it's long been considered customary for men to remove their hats upon entering a church. As we all know, however, church hats are a historic tradition for women to wear in the South.
- ↑ Neusner, Jacob; Armistead, M. Kathryn (1 September 2010). Introduction to World Religions: Communities and Cultures. Abingdon Press. ISBN 978-1-4267-1976-9.
In most forms of Christianity, however, men remove their hats as a sign of deference to the deity. The bareheadedness derives from the comments of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:4 that "a man who keeps his head covered when he prays or prophesies brings shame upon his head" (NEB).
- ↑ "Countries With The Strictest Dress Codes". WorldAtlas. 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Spranklen, Annabelle (2020). "The Tatler guide to decoding dress codes".
Further reading
[edit]- Sondag, Glen (2011). Anything Other Than Naked. London Street Press. pp. 200 pages. ISBN 978-1-936183-83-8.
- "The dress code primer". Gentleman’s Gazette .com. Gentleman’s Gazette LLC, Minnesota, USA. Retrieved 2026-07-01.
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