Court uniform and dress

For attire prescribed for members of courts of law, see Court dress.

Court uniform and dress may refer to the formal attire worn by officials and others in attendance upon a royal court up until the mid-20th century.

United Kingdom

Main article: Court uniform and dress in the United Kingdom

Court uniform was worn by those holding particular offices associated with the Crown (including certain specified civil servants and members of the Royal Household, and all Privy Counsellors). Its use extended to the diplomatic service and officials working in the colonies and dominions. A range of office-holders were entitled to wear it, with different classes of uniform specified for different grades of official. Introduced in the early 1820s, it is still worn today on state occasions by a select number of dignitaries both in the UK and in certain other Commonwealth realms.

Court dress, on the other hand, is a stylized form of clothing deriving from fashionable eighteenth-century wear, which was directed to be worn at court by those not entitled to a court uniform. For men, it comprised a matching tailcoat and waistcoat, breeches and stockings, lace cuffs and cravat, together with a cocked hat and a sword. For women, a white or cream evening gown was to be worn, together with a train and other specified accoutrements. Male court dress is still worn today as part of the formal dress of judges and King's Counsel, and is also worn by certain lord mayors, parliamentary officials, and high sheriffs of counties. Formerly, female court dress was required wear for debutantes being presented at court, but it ceased to be regularly worn after the Second World War, as afternoon presentations largely replaced evening courts.

Forms of courtly dress were at one time dictated by fashion, but they later came to be subject to (increasingly detailed) regulations. By the end of the 18th century court dress, for men and for women, was becoming more fixed in style and beginning to look rather antiquated. From the end of the 19th century, precise descriptions were laid down (of court dress and court uniform) in an official publication called Dress Worn at Court, which was issued with the authority of the Lord Chamberlain. The 1937 edition remains authoritative for those rare circumstances in which court uniform or court dress are still required.

Empire of Japan

Main article: Court uniform and dress in the Empire of Japan

The official court dress of the Empire of Japan, used from the Meiji period until the end of the Second World War, consisted of European-inspired clothing of the 1870's. It was first introduced at the beginning of the Meiji period and maintained through the institution of the constitutional monarchy by the Meiji Constitution, and represented the highest uniforms in use at the time. Uniforms for members of the kazoku peerage and civil officials were officially set.

Ottoman Empire

Main article: Court uniform and dress in the Ottoman Empire

The official court uniform and dress of the Ottoman Empire were required to be worn by those in attendance at the imperial court in the nineteenth century, with the aim of being on the same line as most European nations. It consisted of European-inspired clothing in the Empire style. It was introduced during the early stages of the Tanzimat modernization period until the end of the First World War.

The Tanzimat reforms emerged from the minds of reformist sultans like Mahmud II, his son Abdulmejid I and prominent, often European-educated bureaucrats, who recognised that the old religious and military institutions no longer met the needs of the empire. Most of the symbolic changes, such as uniforms, were aimed at changing the mindset of imperial administrators. Many of the officials affiliated with the government were encouraged to wear a more western style of dress. Many of the reforms were attempts to adopt successful European practices. The reforms were heavily influenced by the Napoleonic Code and French law under the Second French Empire as a direct result of the increasing number of Ottoman students being educated in France.

After the French military mission in 1796, French practices became very popular within Ottoman society. After the creation of the first cabinet, Mahmud II ordered several bureaucrats to the courts of France and other nations around the globe to observe not only clothing but also innovated institutions, which were acceptable for that era. The first new court uniforms were worn around 1839, the time of the sultan's death. His son Abdulmejid I succeeded him and French-style court uniform and dress were officially set. European-style clothing was also popular among the upper class, as redingotes, jackets, waistcoats, frock coats, ties, sharp-pointed and high-heeled shoes were not unusual during the Tanzimat modernization period.