In order to provide a morning coat with a special touch that is subtle yet striking, unlike a flashy lining, silk piping (also known as ribbon edging or ribbon braiding) can be applied.
Silk Piping on Chest Pocket & Lapel
The silk braid is usually made of black silk satin or grosgrain and can vary in thickness from ¼ inch to ½ inch. It covers the edges of the collar, the lapels, and the tails as well as the hook vent in the back. It is often applied on the breast pocket and on the sleeves, where it looks like a turnback cuff.
Contrast Color Ribbon Edging
Silk Piping on Morning Coat Cuffs
I have seen silk ribbon edging in person on only a handful of black and charcoal morning coats. Two were tailored in the US and the other two were of British origins. Both of the American garments were from the 1920’s, and were tailored in San Francisco and Chicago. The British coats were constructed in the 30’s.
Brown Piping on Charcoal Morning Coat 1938
Recently, I saw a charcoal morning coat with peaked lapels and two front buttons that was made in 1938 in Troy, NY, that featured a brown silk ribbon edging and brown buttonholes as well as a brown and a black button in the back. This must have been the result of an eccentric
Duke of Kent in Morning Dress with Silk Piping
customer, rather than the rule, but it seems that there is always something unexpected to be seen.
Silk Piping for Weddings
Morning Coats with piping were particularly popular with grooms, since it added an elegant touch to his ensemble on his important day. Personally, I own a splendid morning coat with silk satin piping, which was made in 1926 in San Francisco. To me it looks considerably more elegant, formal and exquisite than a plain morning coat. I, too, wore it on my wedding day.
However, author Nicholas Storey remarks in his book History of Men’s Fashion that for “very formal morning wear” one should “wear the morning coat without ribbon edging”.
Piping on Morning Coats
Prince Charles in Morning Coat & Vest with Silk Piping – Ribbon Edging
There are a number of old photographs taken of the young Prince of Wales in the 1920’s, showing him in a morning coat and matching waistcoat both with silk ribbon edging. By the mid 1930′s the braid lost its appeal to the young and so almost only older gentleman would wear a coat with a silk braid. As a consequence, vintage morning coats with a silk braid are quite rare today.
Interestingly, Prince Charles owns a morning coat with a matching double breasted waistcoat with silk piping. On his wedding day in April of 2005, he wore a morning coat with silk braiding and contrasting light grey waistcoat. As you can see, it is perfectly acceptable to either wear a matching or a contrasting waistcoat with a morning coat that features silk piping. At the celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, Prince Charles wore a morning coat with matching double breasted waistcoat – both with silk piping.
During a brief period in the 1970s, braiding was popular, and consequently it was also spotted on grey morning suits. Today, however, you will most likely only find it on black vintage morning coats or on bespoke garments.
If you ever come across a morning coat with braided edges, bear in mind that it is a very rare garment. Snap it up quickly for your collection if it fits you, or at least, take a picture and send it to us!
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Good history. Thank you. MB
You are welcome.
Keep in mind that the brown braid, buttonhole twist and buttons (especially if they are bakelite or some other form of early plastic or resin) might be due to fading. Often the silk of the braid and twist as well as the buttons fade diferently from the wool of the coat. I have found that most often if a vintage coat has brown button holes it is due to the dye in the silk twist fading from black to brown.
Dear Janson,
You definitely have a point. However, I have a few more pictures of this particular morning coat and it had buttons and buttonholes in black and in brown. If your theory was true, all of them should have faded, but here we have one black button in the back next to a brown one…
As such, I am not sure I you are right in this case. But again, you could not have known these additional facts.
That is very curious. It seems odd that a black button would be with brown buttons; if that was intentional, this person would have been an eccentric indeed! I suppose there is the factor of variable fading, say in the case of hanging in direct sunlight while some parts of the coat are less exposed for whatever infinite reason than the rest. There is also the possibility of the black button being somehow different than the rest, a later replacement perhaps. I suppose we shall never know without scientific evaluation; which would be rather ludicrous. I will say, though, that braiding on body coats is a wonderful thing and I am glad to see it making resurgence at royal events these days. I hope it makes a stronger comeback. I also want you to know that I thoroughly enjoy your efforts here and regularly check in with it. Keep up your fine work in upholding the sartorial arts!
My father’s tails had braided piping. I understood this was normal for members of POP at Eton.
I am trying to find an affordable way of obtaining one for myself as too big for fathers one. Any ideas?
Dear Mike,
I took a look at your website and I think it is great that you wear morning dress with a wheelchair. Maybe I should write a section about that as well if you can assist/. What do you think?
In regard to your question, I can only say that it will be extremely difficult to find a coat with braided piping since it is rare to come by. A local tailor should be able to add it to an existing coat that fits you.
Do you have a picture of your father wearing his coat. Any information about POP, ETON and braiding is most welcome, so please share if you know more.
I have attended a few upper class weddings and noted that those who had piping or braid were Old Etonians ( they couldn’t have all been POP) everybody else wore plain morning coats. Now I notice it at civic functions and regard it as an identifier of and OE.