The Off Topic Topic

[celedhring]

Because it's Monday and I don't want to work:



Oldest picture I could find. Sir John Balfour and Franco in 1951. He obviously came in a horse coach.

EDIT: Scratch that, Sir Henry Hilton after meeting Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, president of the Spanish Republic, in 1935:

[Admiral Yi]

It is a very strange list of countries.  My guess is obscure treaty obligations.

[Valmy]

It is too bad the female ambassadors don't have to wear 18th century dresses with massive wigs. That would be awesome.

[Sheilbh]

Because it's Monday and I don't want to work:



Oldest picture I could find. Sir John Balfour and Franco in 1951. He obviously came in a horse coach.

Scratch that, Sir Henry Hilton after meeting Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, president of the Spanish Republic, in 1935:

Thank you for your efforts.

Nothing displays British decline quite like the difference between those uniforms and our current version

And the answer on Japan possibly according to Wiki is that court dress and diplomatic uniforms were abolished after WW2. But everyone wears morning suits when presenting credentials to the Emperor and the morning suit in my head is very Meiji/traditional dress.

[celedhring]

I think the reason is probably because we make credential ceremonies really glitzy, with horse coaches, velvet, the lot. Ambassadors always wear gala or traditional attire:





However with Covid the ceremonies have been pared down, and neither King nor ambassador dress up anymore. Covid really is the sworn enemy of fun 

[Sheilbh]

Yeah - I've been down a rabbit hole and it is glitzy here but I don't think horse-drawn carriage levels. And it is formal or traditional dress (and the Thai Ambassador wears a uniform!). E.g. Sri Lanka:


In covid times it's all being done remotely. So the New Zealand High Commissioner presenting credentials to Zoom


Which makes sense given that the Queen is in the vulnerable age so I think being kept very safe from everyone

However with Covid the ceremonies have been pared down, and neither King nor ambassador dress up anymore. Covid really is the sworn enemy of fun 

Right? The only upside of a monarchy is nonsense like this

[Malthus]

Formal wear over the last couple of centuries has been all about odd survivals gradually falling into disuse - think White tie vs. Black tie. Eventually, a more and more limited range of events requires the old formal wear, being replaced by the new, previously less-formal wear. Eventually, "business casual" will be the wear of ambassadors going to visit the Vatican, when ordinary wear is some projected holograms covering key bits. 😄

... unless the trend reverses, and things get more formal again.

[Jacob]

Formal wear over the last couple of centuries has been all about odd survivals gradually falling into disuse - think White tie vs. Black tie. Eventually, a more and more limited range of events requires the old formal wear, being replaced by the new, previously less-formal wear. Eventually, "business casual" will be the wear of ambassadors going to visit the Vatican, when ordinary wear is some projected holograms covering key bits. 😄

... unless the trend reverses, and things get more formal again.

Man, I hate shopping for formal wear. I already have two polo shirts, a pair of khakis, "fun" socks, and loafers... why do I need any more?

[celedhring]

It is weird but as I've grown old I've become more attracted to suits, which I hated when I was younger. It's so cliché I'm ashamed of myself.

[Barrister]

I kind of like suits.  I have the option of dressing business casual on days when I'm not in court, but I just go with suits all the time at work.

They just require no real thought.  "Business casual" is so ambiguous.  I have a bunch of suits and I just wear whatever one is next up in the rotation.  I pick out a shirt and tie to match and then I'm off.  It requires no thought in the morning.  It also covers me in case I'm wrong about having court that day, or spares me from having to have a backup suit kept at the office.

[Sheilbh]

It is weird but as I've grown old I've become more attracted to suits, which I hated when I was younger. It's so cliché I'm ashamed of myself.

I don't think I'll ever wear one for work again unless absolutely necessary.

But I do quite like a suit and they are, generally, of a flattering cut - but I'm mainly into interesting textures/fabrics.

Having said that it'll be a cold day in hell before I wear a blazer

[celedhring]

I don't wear them for work, because it would be massively overdressing, but a lot of situations where beforehand I'd avoid wearing a suit (like galas), now I gladly put it on.

This is pre-2020 of course, haven't worn a suit in over a year 

[Sheilbh]

I mean I've barely wore trousers this year. It's mainly been shorts

[crazy canuck]

It is weird but as I've grown old I've become more attracted to suits, which I hated when I was younger. It's so cliché I'm ashamed of myself.

Wearing a suit is easy.  I hate that business casual is a thing.  I don't want to have to think about what to wear.  I just want to pull out a suit and be done with it.

[The Larch]

It is a very strange list of countries.  My guess is obscure treaty obligations.

Fun fact! Thanks to obscure privileges, female members of the Spanish royal family are one of the very few that are allowed to appear in front of the Pope with uncovered heads.

There's a similar privilege for Catholic queens that allows them to wear white rather than black in front of the Pope.