Mess jacket

Used in military mess dress, during the 1930s it became a popular alternative to the white dinner jacket in hot and tropical weather for black tie occasions.

[1] Its origin was a spencer, a tail-less adaptation of the tailcoat worn by both men and women during the Regency period.

[1] Spencer, it was thought, singed the tails of his tailcoat while standing beside a fire and then cut off the ends, unwittingly starting a new fashion.

[3][4] Civilians first adopted a white mess jacket in 1933 to wear in the tropical weather of Palm Beach, Florida, a popular tourist destination.

The other reason is that the mess jacket had gone on to be worn by musicians, bellhops and waiters, leading the class conscious of the era to abandon the garment.