Formal morning wear was originally worn before lunch, after which a variety of other dress would be worn depending on the occasion. A gentleman would then dress for dinner in evening attire.
Now, the majority of weddings are held in morning wear whatever the time of day, and morning dress is essential at a Palace Weddings and for events such as Royal Ascot and Buckingham Palace Investitures. See our separate pages for more details.
For formalwear a cut above the rest, Bartlett & Butcher are specialists in morning coat hire in Hampshire (Hants), Surrey and Berkshire. We have black herringbone in pure wool and lightweight mohair morning coats in several shades of grey, silver and navy.
We offer a black or charcoal silk herringbone morning coat made to measure for a groom who wants the perfect fit and the knowledge that he is wearing a brand new garment made just for him.
A variation on the morning coat is frockcoat hire, with a square front whereas the morning coat has a sweeping cutaway front.
A top hat in either grey or black, gloves should be worn but rarely are, a ties or cravat, sometime called a Stock, are essential accessories.
Morning coat hire starts at £59.95 and £89.95 for a complete outfit.
Other occasions requiring morning dress include state funerals and for those officiating on Maundy Thursday. The late Queen Mother always used to have all her dinner guests in morning wear, and we were often called upon to dress them.
The Bartlett & Butcher difference
All our hire wear is professionally fitted for each customer mainly in the very same garments they will be wearing on the day of the function, not just offered in the standard short/regular/long fittings often bought in from a remote warehouse like many hire shops. Every garment is impeccably cleaned and pressed in our own on-site dry-cleaning plant and tailored to fit in
