How to put on your tailcoat

If an invitation specifies ‘formal wear’ or ‘tailcoat’, a tailcoat is required, although a formal uniform or a more elegant traditional costume may also be worn. At weddings, it is traditional for a tailcoat to be worn only at afternoon weddings, although nowadays people do not stick to this rule so strictly and tend to choose according to their own taste.

Parts of the tailcoat

• Tailcoat and tailcoat trousers.
• White piqué shirt and white waistcoat.
• White piqué bow tie, braces, sleeve holders, cufflinks and two breast buttons.
• White handkerchief, black socks and black patent leather shoes.
• Possibly a black top hat (cylinder hat).

How to wear a tailcoat

• Start by putting on the shirt and fastening the top button.
• Then fasten, in order, the two loose front buttons and the three regular buttons at the bottom.
• Fasten the cufflinks.
• Tie the white piqué bow tie (quite tightly) around your neck. Tuck the ends behind the bow tie.
• Put on the trousers. Fasten the braces. The trousers should sit high on the waist. However, you can adjust the trouser length and waist width slightly using the buckles at the side. Without shoes, the trousers should reach the floor. Put on your shoes.
• Put on the waistcoat. Adjust the waist width (at the back) and the length of the waistcoat using the ‘sock band’ around the neck.
• Now feel free to walk around and let the garments ‘settle’.
• Put on the coat.
• Place the handkerchief in the breast pocket.
• Check that the waistcoat is visible 2 cm below the front edge of the coat.
• The white cuffs should be visible by about one centimetre.
• The waistcoat and bow tie ribbons are concealed by the back of the coat’s collar.

Tip! Avoid wearing too much perfume. Hang up the tailcoat after use. Do not sit on stones or rough wooden boards. Protect the lapel from the car seatbelt.