What to wear during the day
We have seen that tails should not be worn before 5:00 p.m.
However, many concerts take place in the matinée, in the morning or early afternoon.
The classic elegant outfit for morning and afternoon indoor events is the Cut (short for Cutaway). This ensemble consists of a black or gray jacket open at the front (but, in contrast to tails, it includes a button and a buttonhole for closure), with tails, a gray waistcoat (in England, often dyed a different color; in Scotland, sometimes featuring the family tartan or one’s “clan”), single or double-breasted and gray striped trousers. The white shirt has a diplomatic or regular collar, double cuffs fastened with cufflinks, and a long gray tie or plastron. The bow tie is not allowed; it is only worn in the evening, either white (with tails) or black (with a tuxedo).
Aside from official ceremonies or funerals (where the tie and vest turn black), very few people wear the Cut anymore; it has only recently been spotted on some conductors at the Wiener Philharmoniker’s New Year’s Concert.
In the 1920s, the Cut was gradually supplanted by the Stresemann, named after its creator, Gustav Stresemann, Chancellor of the Weimar Republic and later Foreign Minister during the same decade, who won the Nobel Prize in 1926 alongside Aristide Briand.
To simplify and minimize diplomatic attire, Stresemann removed the tails from the jacket, opting for a black color while keeping the gray striped trousers. The vest is optional but seldom seen. The tie is always long and usually gray or silver.
This is still the daytime attire of the Wiener Philharmoniker and the evening attire of the Vienna Opera Orchestra (it is the same orchestra, but officially, at the opera, the orchestra rarely plays under the name of the private company “Wiener Philharmoniker”).
I believe that even the Philadelphia Orchestra used this attire until a few years ago, but unfortunately, a generic black suit has replaced it.
This is not a conductor, but he is elegant in his midnight-blue tuxedo.
For the conductor, cutaway suits and Stresemann jackets are typically worn indoors during winter and never after 5:00 pm. The tuxedo, similar to tails, is considered evening wear and should not be worn before 5:00 pm. It features a black jacket with satin lapels, available in either single or double-breasted styles, paired with a preferably simple shirt and double cuffs secured with cufflinks, along with shiny black Oxford shoes or loafers (martingale shoes are acceptable, and while patent leather shoes are technically incorrect, they are allowed; the same applies to suede or satin shoes). The trousers are black with satin stripes along the sides, accompanied by long black socks and a black bow tie. Tuxedos made from velvet and in other colors, such as midnight blue, Blackwatch tartan (not in velvet), burgundy, and dark green, are also quite elegant, and bolder colors are increasingly accepted.
However, the conductor should not wear a tuxedo; his elegant evening attire is always and exclusively tails.
A standard practice permits wearing a “dinner jacket,” the summer alternative to the tuxedo (white jacket instead of black, while the rest conforms to tuxedo standards) during the summer.
Traditionally, the dinner jacket is worn outdoors rather than indoors; this practice is often overlooked today. Generally, the conductor should wear it only outdoors.
