Frock coat
The single-breasted frock coat sporting the notched (step) lapel was more associated with day-to-day professional informal wear.
Yet, from the end of the 19th century, with the gradual introduction of the lounge suit, the frock coat came to embody the most formal wear for daytime.
Frock coats emerged during the Napoleonic Wars, where they were worn by officers in the Austrian and various German armies during campaign.
During the mid seventeenth century the older doublets, ruffs, paned hose and jerkins were replaced by the precursor to the three piece suit comprising waistcoat, tight breeches and a long coat called a justacorps, topped by a powdered wig and tricorne hat.
By the 1780s the frock was worn widely as town wear and, towards the end of the 18th century, started to be made with a single-breasted cut away front and tails.
The modern word for a dress coat in Italian, French, Romanian and Spanish is frac; in German and Scandinavian languages Frack; and Portuguese fraque, used in the late 18th century to describe a garment very similar to the frock, being a single or double-breasted garment with a diagonally cutaway front in the manner of a modern morning coat.
However a remote historical connection to the frock cannot entirely be excluded, as is the case with similar looks variably referred to as redingote or riding coat.
Other meanings of the term frock include clerical garb and a type of woman's dress combining a skirt with a shirt–blouse top.
The first military frock coats were issued late in the Napoleonic Wars to French line infantry and Prussian Landwehr troops.
The Germans, having been devastated by years of war, were unable to afford elaborate uniforms like the British line infantry and chose a peaked cap and double-breasted blue coat,[4] again with contrasting collar and cuffs, as these were cheaper to produce for the large numbers of recruits, smart enough for full dress and more practical for campaigns.
By 1834 officers of the British Army had adopted a dark blue/black frock coat for ordinary duties, derived from an earlier greatcoat worn during the Napoleonic period.
[6] US army officers were first issued navy blue frocks during the Mexican War, with gold epaulettes and peaked caps of the German pattern.
Enlisted USMC personnel received a double breasted version with red piping worn with a leather stock and shako to reflect their status as an elite unit.
Infantry soldiers continued to be issued the 1833 pattern shell jacket until the M1858 uniform complete with French style kepi entered service shortly before the US Civil War.
The lounge suit was once only worn as smart leisure wear in the country or at the seaside but in the middle of the 19th century started to rise rapidly in popularity.
The more the morning coat became fashionable as correct daytime full dress, the more the lounge suit became acceptable as an informal alternative.
= Day (before 6 p.m.) = Evening (after 6 p.m.) = Bow tie colour = Ladies = Gentlemen Frock coats worn with waistcoat and formal striped trousers are still very occasionally worn as daytime formal wear, especially to weddings, as an alternative to morning coats, in order to give the wedding attire a Victorian flavour.
The most common weaves were known as broadcloth and duffel, both so called "heavy wools" manufactured along a process originating from Flanders in the 11th century (Flemish cloth).
During the earlier Victorian period, colourful fancy waistcoats of silk were noted as being worn by gentlemen such as Charles Dickens.
The most conservative length became established as being to the knees but fashion conscious men would follow the latest trends to wear them either longer or shorter.
The elegance of the form of the frock coat derived from its hourglass shape with a closely cut waist which at times around the 1830s-40's was reinforced further with padding to round out the chest.
The buttons on a frock coat were always covered in cloth, often to match the silk on the revers, showing in the triangle of lining wrapped over the inside of the lapels.
The lapel revers from the inside of the coat wrapped over to the front, creating a small triangle of silk, while the outer half was cut from two strips of the body fabric.
Proper accessories to wear with the frock coat included a non-collapsible top hat and a boutonnière in the lapel.
During the Victorian and Edwardian era, button boots with a single row of punching across the cap toe were worn along with a cane.
The practice of wearing bow ties as an acceptable alternative with formalwear fell away after the late Victorian to early Edwardian era and became relegated to eveningwear, as remains the case in the 21st century.
A version of the frock coat was used here too, with matching trousers and a more informal cloth, featuring stripes or the check shown in the plate opposite.
Examples of frock coats in fashion in the 21st century include Alexander McQueen in 2012,[12] Prada's autumn edition in 2012, and Paul Smith in 2018.
On Shabbat, Hasidim wear bekishes, which are usually silk or polyester as opposed to the woollen frock coat.
The Teddy Boys, a 1950s UK youth movement, named for their use of Edwardian-inspired clothing, briefly revived the frock coat, which they often referred to as a "drape".
