Re: court dress for gentlemen Archived Message
Posted by Nellie on March 19, 2016, 5:29 pm, in reply to "Re: Duchess of Cambridge wearing the Lovers Knot tiara"
From Royalty Annual No 3, Godfrey Talbot & Wynford Vaughan Thomas -- Chapter Farewell to Court Dress For the men -- Velvet Court Dress (old style) was a noble affair. Our fathers attended the Courts of King Edward VII and KIng George V in a coat of black silk velvet, which was "pigeon breasted" and had a stand-collar. The body of the coat was lined with white silk and the skirts with black. The buttons were of cut steel, while a black silk "wig-bag" was attached to the coat at the back of the neck, hanging over the collar. The wearing of wigs went out with the French Revolution, but men wore "wig-bags" to Court down to our own day [1950s] an extraordinary instance of a survival of fashion ! Swords, too, were worn, with cut steel hilts and black scabbards. A black beaver cocked hat, black silk velvet breeches, buckled shoes, white satin waistcoat, white gloves and ruffles at the wrists, were all compulsory, while the final eighteenth-century touch was added by the "Frill". This took the place of a collar and tie, and was formed "of a soft stock of plaited lawn or batiste, with lace at the ends. By the 1930s, old style Court Dress was already modified into New Style, and "Frill" and "Wig-bag" had disappeared. Today you may wear trousers instead of breeches, and swords are rarely seen.
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