Western dress codes

Before the modern system of formal, semi-formal, and informal was consolidated in the 20th century, the terms were looser. In the 19th century, during the Victorian and Edwardian periods, the principal classifications of clothing were full dress and undress, and, less commonly the intermediate half dress. Full dress covered the most formal option: frock coat for day wear, and dress coat (white tie) for evening wear (sometimes with supplementary alternative being a full dress uniform independent of what time of the day). As such, full dress may still appear in use designating formal wear.

When morning dress became common (in the modern sense, using a morning tailcoat rather than a frock coat), it was considered less formal than a frock coat, and even when the frock coat was increasingly phased out, morning dress never achieved full dress status. Therefore, in the 21st century, full dress often refers to white tie only.

Today's semi-formal black tie (originally dinner clothes) was initially described as informal wear, while the "lounge suit," now standard business wear, was originally considered (as its name suggests) casual wear. Half dress, when used, was variously applied at different times, but was used to cover modern morning dress (note that the term morning dress is fairly undescriptive and has not always meant modern morning dress). Undress (not to be confused with naked) in turn was similarly loose in meaning, corresponding to anything from a dressing gown to a lounge suit or its evening equivalent of dinner clothes (now one of the more formal dress codes seen in many Western regions).[1]

Typical events: Weddings, state dinners and affairs, formal balls, royal events, etc.

Note that the use of white tie and morning dress has become rare in some countries (such as the United States and Australia), where black tie or a lounge suit (as appropriate) is often worn to the above events.

Typical events: Theatre opening nights, charity balls, etc.

There is some variation in style depending on whether it is summer or winter. See black tie and stroller for more details.

In the last few decades, in place of the traditional white tie or morning dress, black tie has been increasingly seen in the United States at formal day wedding. However, etiquette and clothing experts continue to discourage or condemn the wearing of black tie as too informal for weddings, or any event before 7 p.m.,[2] such as by Emily Post (1872-1960) and Amy Vanderbilt (1908-1974), the latter arguing that "no man should ever be caught in a church in a tuxedo."

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin wearing western business suits as per their gender, February 2016

Typical events: Diplomatic and business meetings, many social occasions, everyday wear

Business wear is included in the informal category, generally consisting of a business suit and tie. Informal dress code encompasses all suits, but not all suits are considered business appropriate in fabric, cut, or color.

Casual wear, although not traditionally part of Western dress codes, are sometimes applied colloquially. Related to this category is business casual, smart casual, etc.