Morning Dress: Formal Day Wear

When a Suit Won’t Do (and a Tuxedo Shouldn’t)

The tuxedo and tailcoat take their black colour from their after-dark surroundings and in this context they give their wearer a sense of elegance, power and even an air of mystery.  When worn in broad daylight, however, black suits look dull and lifeless and tend to make men’s faces appear ashen which is what makes them so appropriate for traditional funeral director attire!

While formal day coats are also usually black they are typically the only occurrence of ebony in morning dress (the traditional term for formal day wear).  Their somberness is offset by non-matching grey trousers – which are themselves enlivened with striped or checked patterns – and further livened up by the addition of tastefully coloured ties, waistcoats and even shirts.  The end result is an ensemble immensely more suitable for daylight and at the same time significantly more formal than a regular suit.

The purpose of this blog is simply to provide an introduction to the topic of morning dress.

Basic Etiquette

Generally, morning dress is meant for formal affairs held in the morning or afternoon.

Formal Morning Dress

As with evening dress, there are two categories of formal day dress.  The most formal version is by far the most popular and features a type of tailcoat known as a cutaway(morning coat in UK & Ireland).  The morning coat is worn by grooms, groomsmen and guests at formal church weddings and for formal daytime events in the presence of The Queen such as Royal Ascot and Trooping the Colour.

In America its appearance is largely limited to formal weddings prior to 6 o’clock and even then is extremely rare – although perfectly correct.

Typically, the groom’s speech is about the bride – his wife and about their future together and to thank the people involved in making their wedding a memorable occasion.

Thanking the Father of the Bride

• Thank the Bride’s father for proposing the toast
• For his kindness and friendship
• For his daughter
• For the wedding feast (if appropriate)

Thanking the Guests

• for attending
• for their good wishes
• Everyone for their wedding gifts

Thanking the Bride, His Newly Wed Wife

• Thank your new wife for marrying you!
• Talk about how you met
• Talk about why you love your wife
• Talk about your future together

Thank Individuals

• Thank those who have helped organize and plan the event.
• Thank the Bridesmaids who have helped your wife through the day. Comment on their charm & beauty – not too much, though, as you may make your new wife jealous!
• Thank the groomsmen and the Best Man

As well as the traditional thanks, the Groom may wish to add a few words about how he met his wife, activities they share, etc. Gentle teasing is in order.

The grooms speech usaully thanks more people than any of the other speakers.

The idea of making a speech in front of all of your nearest and dearest, including your new mother and father-in-law, is almost enough to make you a runaway groom.

The key to writing good groom wedding speeches is keeping your speech personal and genuine. This is the most important moment of your life, it’s easy to feel anxious, but for a lot of people this is just an excuse to drink a few drinks and cut loose on the dance floor. So relax and take it all in. Have fun with it. Everyone is here to love and support you and your bride. They want to see you succeed.

By following a few simple steps, you can write a goom wedding speech that will be a showstopper.

1. Breathe. Take a deep breath before you start. Wait a minute! Not too many, you don’t want to hyperventilate, but chances are, while you’ve been anticipating this moment, you’ve probably been holding your breath. So, pause and catch it before you go on. It’ll feel like forever with all of those eyes on you, but no one else will even notice.

2. Keep your groom wedding speech brief – This isn’t a moment to memorialize every experience you have had or plan to have with your bride. Save that for the honeymoon. Try to keep it under a few minutes. It’ll just feel like a few seconds to you when you’re in the moment, but trust me, everyone else will appreciate your brevity. They’re probably wearing uncomfortable shoes, afterall.

3. Relax and speak from the heart. have fun with it! Don’t worry about impressing people with your vocabulary. These are the people closest to you, talk to them like you would at the dinner table. It’ll help to draw them in.

4. Share one or two personal stories – they can make groom speeches really special. Did you know you’d marry her the moment you met your bride? Tell us about it. Was your first date a disaster? Tell them how you scored a second one. Was your bride actually interested in your best friend? How’d you win her heart? Do you all have an interesting hobby no one knows about? Spill the beans. Let your guests into your lives a little bit. A lot of people may only know you as individuals. Help them get to know the couple. One little tip: if you’re planning to share a story that’s slightly embarassing, consult your bride first. She may be the type who loves a little self depricating humor, or that may be her worst nightmare. It is her day afterall, don’t throw her under the bus. No matter what, if you’re going to embarass her. Make sure you embarass yourself more!

5. Don’t read off a card. You’ll be more engaged if you share your groom speech like you’re telling a story or having a conversation, so think about what you’d like to say, give yourself a few keywords to help you remember the flow (write those down if you need to), practice a few times and go! People will be more interested and connected if they feel like you’re talking to them rather than lecturing them.

So, those are five essential points that hold true not only for the groom wedding speech but for all wedding speeches you may ever need to give. Enjoy every moment! This is your wedding day. Even if your groom wedding speech is a bit awkward, no one will really notice or care and the day will be amazing no matter what. At the very least it’ll make for a great story at your 50th anniversary party! Plus, the faster you get it over with, the sooner you can move on to your honeymoon!

When and how to wear a Kilt – Bond Brothers

Bond Brothers in Dublin offer the largest selection of Kilts for hire and sale in Ireland including family tartans.  Bond Bros source Scottish Clans and Irish Tartans from the finest Tartan mills in Scotland who work to the highest standards

So …… Can Anyone Wear A Wedding Kilt?

It’s a common misconception that only the Scots can wear kilts. In fact anyone, Scotsman or not, is free to wear a wedding kilt for their big day.

It’s tradition, where possible, to choose the tartan for your wedding kilt that is associated with your ancestral clan, but again there are no strict rules about this. A number of national tartans exist (Scotland, Wales and Ireland all have their own versions).

At Bond Bros there is a wide selection to choose from such as Grey Granite, Ancient MacKenzie, Modern Maclean of Duart, Weathered Dress Stewart, Pride of Ireland, Pride of Scotland, Pride of Wales, Black Island, Braveheart. Modern Douglas and National Pride.

In short, your wedding kilt can pretty much be made of any exisitng tartan you wish – in fact, those Groom’s with cash to burn can even design their own!

The Essential Accessories for your Kilt (available to hire at Bond Bros)

Shirt & cufflinks – Hose (socks) – Sgian Dubh (knife) – Ghillie Brogues – Leather Belt – Sporran & Chain – Bow/Rouche Tie – Waistcoat & Jacket – Tartan Flashes – Kilt Pin

How To Wear A Kilt … How to put it all on !

Getting dressed into your wedding kilt is fairly easy process, but if you’re unfamiliar with wearing one it can at first seem a little daunting. Initially, either lay your wedding kilt out on a flat surface (a bed is a good bet) and proceed to sit on the pleats, or alternatively just wrap it around you and position it centrally behind your back. Once you’ve done this, and holding both ends of the kilt, bring the right side round then buckle it to the left hand side. Repeat with the left side, and you’re done.

 When you’ve got the wedding kilt in place, it should come down to around the knees and sit up to 2 inches above the waist – when you kneel down it should not touch the floor.

A kilt pin (positioned at the front of the kilt in the bottom right corner) will add needed weight and minimise the chances of it blowing about, though be sure to only pin it through the front ‘apron’ to prevent damage.

Finally, a sporran adds a wonderful finishing touch, although you may need a hand when fastening it in place for the very first time.

What Do I Wear Under A Wedding Kilt?

 Well, the rumours you’ve heard are true, for it is indeed tradition to ‘go commando’ when wearing a wedding kilt. That said, it’s not a hard and fast rule, so if you’re particularly shy, or if the forecast for the day predicts bitterly cold weather (I think you know where we’re coming from on this one!) then underwear is acceptable – that said, only a big jessie would succumb to a pair of pants!

Some Pointers !

• The top of your sock should be mid calf which is four fingers down from the centre of your knee joint and the ribbing is straight coming up your leg.
• Ghillie brogues laces should not be tied any higher than the bottom of your calf.
• The bottom of your kilt should be at the middle of your knee.
• Make sure you do not wear your sporran to low.

Are there any Irish tartans?

Yes – The addition of Irish Kilts to the world is fairly recent.  Most of the Irish Tartans were created in the late 19th Century and the 20th Century and woolen mills continued to add many of these great looking Tartans.

Call Brendan on 012967744 anytime for further information

A great fit is key to looking your best in formalwear. If in doubt, please arrange to have your measurement taken. Ideally, particularly if you are ordering from out of town, drop into us in store to be measured. Call us on 01 296 7744 to arrange a time.

The following guidelines may be useful as you take your measurements.

If you want to measure yourself its best to do so barefoot and in your underwear. If possible, ask someone else to do it for you. Take measurements two or three times to account for variations in your posture.

Comfort is a key factor for the enjoyment of your important formal occasion. To ensure your comfort please be honest with your measurements; if you have a 34” waist don’t try to squeeze into a 32” waist trousers.

Shirt: Use you normal collar size, if known, otherwise, measure around the neck where your shirt collar normally sits, leaving room for two figures inside the measuring tape or about ½ inch for movement.

Chest: Measurement should be taken around the chest keeping the tape well up under the arms and over the shoulder blades.

Waist: Measure around where you usually like your trousers for comfort, typically an inch above the hip bone and below your stomach.

Inside Leg: Without shoes on, measure from the crotch to the floor.

Follow our easy guide on how to tie a cravat. .

1. Place the cravat flat aroung your neck, with the right hand side falling a few inchces below the left.

2. Next, cross the longer end over the shorter end from right to left

3. Now bring the same piece under the shorter end.

4. Continue by bringing the same piece up and over the top, to the left hand side

5. Now pull the piece through the loop of the neck so that it sits behind the knot

6. Lastly, to create the ruche effect pull the piece through the knotted loop and lay the section down.

See our range of Cravats here.

1. Drape the tie around the neck with the left end about an inch and a half longer than the right. (One end has to be longer because it will be used to create the knot between the two wings.)

2. Tie a simple knot by wrapping the longer end up behind the shorter end.  Flip the longer end over your shoulder to keep it out of the way for now.
Advanced Tip: tie this knot tightly (and keep it tight during the subsequent steps) in order for the finished bow to sit snugly against the throat.  Unlike a long tie, you can’t slide a bow tie knot tighter to the neck after the fact.

3. Fold the shorter end at the widest part of the curve.  This will create the front wings of the bow.  (Make sure the fold is on the right side of your chest.)

4.Hold the front in place by pinching the center of the wings together.  Pinch with your thumb and finger or your first two fingers depending on which you find more comfortable during the next couple of steps.

5. Use your right hand to shove the middle of the longer end through the loop behind the bow from your right-hand side.  Obviously you will need to retract the thumb or finger that is holding the loop open

6. To finesse the bow, hold the knot tight with one hand and use the other to adjust the wings so that they are all an equal length. Congratulations – you now have yourself a bow tie!

See our range of bow tie’s here.

White tie is worn at very formal occasions. White Tie is normally specified on invitations to formal state banquets, balls, and formal diplomatic events.

The White Tie outfit consists of:

• Black evening tailcoat with satin faced lapels
• Black evening trousers with a satin stripe down the outside leg seam
• White Marcella waistcoat
• White wing collar shirt
• White bow tie
• and may be accessorised with a white silk handkerchief.

It should be worn with black silk or cotton socks and plain black patent shoes.

Bond Brothers can help you prepare for your white tie event with the right accessories you need.

See here for our white bow tie.

A “black tie” dress code on an invitation means that the guest is expected to wear formal evening dress.

This usually consists of a single-breasted or double-breasted black dinner jacket with satin faced lapels and matching trousers with a black satin braid down the outside leg seam.

The dinner suit should be worn with a formal white dress shirt, plain collared with a pleated or Marcella front, or wing collared with pleated front.

Traditionally a black satin bow tie has been worn, in more recent years a wide choice of coloured bow ties are acceptable.

A waistcoat or a cummerbund (never both together) may be worn with the single-breasted jacket. The cummerbund should match the colour of the bow tie.

A waistcoat or a cummerbund are not worn with a double-breast jacket.

The ensemble should be completed with black silk or cotton socks and plain black patent or fine leather shoes.

At Bond Brothers we offer a great selection of black tie formal wear to suit your occasion or event.

We stock single-breasted and double-breasted dinner jackets along with an excellent range of accessories such as bow ties and cummerbunds which you can view on the accessories page on our website, http://www.bondbros.ie/.