Men's fashion in Themiclesia

1880 – 1900

In the 1880s, the single-breasted frock coat, which was considered less formal, evolved into the cutaway coat. Like the single-breasted frock coat and unlike the standard morning coat of later decades, it typically had two, three, or even four buttons, and consequently the buttoning point was much higher. The tapering was initially small and did not form a pointed tail. The cutaway coat was initially regarded as informal day wear for the countryside, but close to the turn of the 20th century it gained acceptance as formal wear specifically before lunch. It was popular primarily amongst younger, fashionable men, with others still preferring the double-breasted frock coat for similar occasions in both city and country. The cutaway coat could also be made in a variety of colours, though only black was considered appropriate for formal occasions. In weddings conducted at churches, invariably in the morning, it was considered correct to reserve the frock coat for the bridegroom.

The double-breasted frock coat's evolution was slower in this era as its use was de rigueur in many settings. Grey and blue double-breasted frock coats, viewed as insufficiently formal, lost favour, and the black frock coat became the accepted dress for conducting private and public business, appearing in court, and attending social meals. Nevertheless, fashion still very strongly influenced the number of buttons, the width of the lapels, and the length of the skirt. In some contexts, the grey and blue frock coats were displaced by the cutaway coat, though in others they were simply subsumed by the black frock coat.

The sack coat, which was so named because it was not tailored close to the body and thus had the shape of a potato sack, became more common as informal wear.

The fashion of trousers also evolved in this epoch. Chequered patterns lost ground to vertical stripes, as grey became the standard colour for formal trousers. The more dated-looking chequered trousers remained in use as military uniforms and country wear. Stripes on trousers could come in a variety of colours, with other shades of grey and blue as common options. Black stripes were considered the most formal and paired with the black double-breasted frock coat, while the cutaway coat could be paired with grey or blue stripes. Blue was more popular for festive occasions. Sometimes stripes also alternated in colour between blue and grey, though never between black and blue. Solid-black was considered appropriate for mourning only.

1900s to 20s

The trend towards dark colours that characterized the second half of the 19th century persisted into the first two decades of the 20th, especially in formal wear. Black remained the sole correct colour in coats worn for business, and in social occasions charcoal was appropriate. Dark blue was available as a third colour for festivities and the domicile, but it was not considered sufficiently formal otherwise. Pipings on formal coats were acceptable as long as they were the same colour as the coat itself; contrasting pipings were considered appropriate for liveries. Mourning dress was always black and with no piping or revers of any colour. A waistcoat in matching colour was considered appropriate for business, where a contrasting grey or even cream was acceptable for social calls. Trousers contrasted with the coat and were generally striped or plaid, though the overall colour must be dark grey.

Few frock coats were made with visible pockets after 1900, due to their association with the working class. Instead, pockets were relocated to the interior and placed at the torso; additional pockets existed in the tail of the jacket, but they were usually meant for gloves. A specialized class of coats known as chore coats were made with pockets for gardeners and similar professionals, who required a presentable appearance while working and at the same time a place to store their tools. The skirt on a chore coat was typically shorter than a conventional frock coat but longer than on a sack coat. These coats often had removable linings so that pockets could be cleaned more easily.

Sack coats, so called because they were cut with fewer panels and draped on the wearer's body like a potato sack, became fashionable for informal and male-only occasions in the middle and upper classes around 1900. These occasions were invariably indoors, as outdoors wealthier men often dressed with an eye for potential interactions with women. For the working classes, however, a hierarchy of formality developed within the sack coat. Black, wool coats were worn by civil servants and workers not engaging in manual labour and came to be regarded as more formal, while manual labourers usually wore fabrics that came in other colours, typically provided by their employers or made at home. The black sack coat was the precursor to the modern business suit after the frock coat went out of fashion after the Pan-Septentrion War.

20s to 40s

In the previous decades, the reformist Emperor Gwāi and Emperor Grūi have smiled upon more casual dressing habits for certain occasions, but the conservative Empress Dowager Gwīts, who is regent for the minor Emperor Qīnt, preferred a more formal environment which she claimed was better for the growing emperor, who "could decide different when he comes of age." Thus, upon the latter's ascension in 1923, frock coats once again became the preferred daytime dress at court, with the cutaway coat being used primarily for leisurely, but still formal, occasions. Broadly speaking, the 1920s and 30s were characterized by sartorial conservatism across a broad swathe of middle and upper society, which generally distanced itself from radicalism and the newer forms of dress they promoted.

After the declaration of war in 1926, men's dress code took a turn for gravity at the royal court, affecting government ministers, legislators, and others close to the political nucleus. In the 1910s, the lounge jacket had come to displace the frock coat in many regiments and units across the armed forces, but daily meetings with the War Secretary to report on the war resulted in the return of both the frock coat and the even more formal, full-dress tailcoat, depending on the time of day. While sartorial etiquette only required military officers meeting government ministers to be dressed, many junior officers voluntarily did likewise to avoid the embarrassment of being underdressed before a superior.

While the Prairie War was quick to abate, workers' movements intensified in 1928 – 29, and clothing became fraught with visual and political symbolism. Mainstream politicians, including most Liberals and moderate Conservatives, maintained the status quo of the frock coat to signify their alignment with the establishment, while radical socialists wore the lounge jacket in the House of Commons. At the same time, a fledgling nationalist movement began to wear drab military jackets, which had just emerged in the 1920s and were a development of the lounge jacket; they were easily customized as political uniform and very cheap. Both phenomena drove the Capital Defence Force to prohibit wearing the drab jackets when in public, for fear of the imagery of political activism, with many regiments following suit in 1930.  

Outside of the political sphere, clothing was still used as a statement of social status in the 1920s and 30s. The lounge jacket, or short jacket in Shinasthana (短表, tor-mprjaw′), was considered working-class if worn outside the workplace. A middle-class person was expected by his social peers to wear a formal coat, cutaway, or tails, when in "polite" company, but a short jacket was perfectly acceptable in the privacy of the home. To some extent, the acquisition of these articles was conceived as a statement of social advancement, as they were generally too impractical for anything but desk work. Even though the franchise has been extended to all adults in 1907, the gentry still exercised influence over local political parties.

50s and 60s

In the late 40s, frock coats briefly made a comeback, being worn mostly by politicans. In part, its revival was buttressed by a desire to restate the pre-war social order and reject the detriment of warfare. However, the frock coat was never fully revived in the business world, and only elderly businessmen were regularly seen in frock coats. The reality was that the war had dramatically changed the Themiclesian industrial sector, with many workers being retrained in different trades or promoted into positions of management. After the war, the inpouring of capital further created many new businesses and, with them, new businessmen. A person's role in a business—whether owner, management, or labourer—had readily prescribed dress, but a less visually stratified workplace became normal after the war. Board meetings of large companies became less connected with social occasions, such as meals, and ditched the top hat and frock coat that was once associated with that position. After 1960, the frock coat became a fossilized uniform associated with certain occasions and professions.

Within a brief time, it became acceptable for men to wear bare shirts and eschew neckwear in informal situations, when even the least privileged classes before the war would have avoided public activities without a jacket or neckwear. It has been suggested that the experience of the war had influenced the dressing habits of Themiclesians more than anything else in the 20th century, altering the fundamental structure of men's garments. Some commentators assert that attributing these changes to experiences in military uniforms was untenable, because most uniforms included shirt and jacket, and because the majority of young Themiclesian men were not involved in the armed forces. Others say that wartime rationing of fabrics, the experience of displacement, or the mere idea that a war was ongoing, suspended or relaxed social expectations. Nevertheless, the belt, associated with military uniforms and working wear, did noticeably become more popular.

See also

• Themiclesia