In the dawning of the Regency Era the tailcoat was born, by the end of the Edwardian age it was dead. The advances in evening wear that rose up with the tailcoat, however, survived its fall.
In the late 1700’s the tailcoat was born out of the frock coat. Due to their long length frock coats restricted movement, this was fixed by cutting away the length in the front of the coat but leaving it long in the back to keep the elegance (“Regency Evolution”). Since it was born out of a frock coat it made sense to wear it as one would a frock coat. The garments that went with a frock coat in evening wear showed off the shape of the legs and neck using few layers around the legs and many layers around the neck (Scott 103). Stiff shirt collars worn straight up are long enough to reach a man’s jaw, added to this is a cravat (Scott 103). All of this forces a man to keep his neck straight and his chin up, helping him to attain the “tall, slender line which [gives] the impression of youth and agility” (Johansen 184) that defined men’s formal attire in this period. The tightly fitted Regency silhouette marks “one of the last times that menswear was focused on a shapely, body-conscious style” (Condra 43). Meaning that after the Regency period men’s evening wear
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Creativity was given up for elegance. For both events one had to wear a white undershirt and gloves. An Edwardian event would require a black tailcoat and trousers, a black or white waistcoat, and a white tie (Scott 160). Whereas for a Regency event one could wear a tailcoat in any dark color, a waistcoat in any color, breeches, pantaloons, or trousers in black, white, or any other light color (Condra 42). Even undershirts lost their flair by the early 1900s becoming plain fronted when a century ago they might have had rakishly lopsided ruffles (“Edwardian