Waistcoat

"Vest" redirects here. For other uses, see Vest (disambiguation).
For the Boleslaw Prus novel, see The Waistcoat.
A traditional waistcoat, to be worn with a two-piece suit or separate jacket and trousers

A waistcoat (UK and Commonwealth, /ˈweɪs(t)koʊt/ or /ˈwɛskət/; colloquially called a weskit[1]) or vest (US and Canada) is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear. It is also sported as the third piece in the traditional three-piece male suit.[2] Any given waistcoat can be simple or ornate, or for leisure or luxury.[3] Historically, the waistcoat can be worn either in the place of, or underneath, a larger coat, dependent upon the weather, wearer, and setting.[3]

Daytime formal wear and semi-formal wear commonly comprises a contrastingly coloured waistcoat, such as in buff or dove gray, still seen in morning dress and black lounge suit. For white tie and black tie, it is traditionally white or black, respectively.

  1. ^ Wedgwood, Hensleigh (1855). "On False Etymologies". Transactions of the Philological Society (6): 69.
  2. ^ Gavenas, Mary Lisa (2008). Encyclopedia of Menswear. New York: Fairchild Publications. p. 379. ISBN 978-1-56367-465-5.
  3. ^ a b Pendergast, Sara; Pendergast, Tom; Hermsen, Sarah (2003). Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages. Detroit: UXL.