Colorful waistcoats with morning dress

randomblahblah said:

Hi everyone. Does anyone happen to know when duck egg blue and other pastel colors became popular as waistcoat colors with morning dress? Have they been around a long time or is it a relatively recent trend?

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Flanderian said:

I'm sorry I don't have sufficient specific knowledge to answer your question in detail, but I recall elaborate, fancy waistcoats originally having been one of the hallmarks of formal dress, and as time passed what was once dress of a lesser degree of formality succeeded to the role of higher levels, so I would expect that at different periods, colorful waistcoats have gone in and out of vogue with specific degrees of formality.

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Edward said:

I couldn't tell you exactly when it started, however, by the time morning dress as we know it and its place in the hierarchy of formality in menswear solidified as it now sits in the 30s, it would not have been uncommon to see these pastel shades on display. Clearly less formal than black (most formal) or dove grey (next most so), and often to be seen with the less formal "morning suit" (i.e. trousers and morning coat both in grey).

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