How to Wear and Arrange a Morning Coat

IThe first thing to know is the order: from the inside outwards

The order of dressing is to layer from what lies closest to the body, and to put on the white gloves last. You begin with the white wing-collar shirt and the striped trousers, then proceed to the tie, the grey waistcoat, the black morning coat and the black leather shoes. Keeping to this order means fewer adjustments to collar and hem along the way.

On your arrival, your butler checks the costume and shows you to the place where you will change. There is no need to hurry into the sleeves. Settling the layers of cloth before fastening a button, and checking front and side in the mirror: that quiet procedure is itself a butler's way of dressing.

If this is your first time, it is enough to remember what to take up first. Your butler assists with the finer adjustments and checks the appearance against your build. Female butlers are also available, and if there is anything you wish to discuss about changing, you may tell us at the time of booking.

IIThe shirt and striped trousers are the foundation for everything layered above

The foundation of the attire lies in settling the collar and the waist first. You straighten the collar of the white shirt and put on the black-and-grey striped trousers so that they hang true. We check that the stripes fall cleanly when seen from the front, and that the cloth is not greatly disturbed when you stand after sitting.

The shirt becomes the background for the tie and the waistcoat. If the layers go on before the collar is even on both sides, the upper garments must come off again to correct it. Your butler looks at the collar points, then asks you to relax your shoulders, and checks that you do not feel constricted.

The trousers create a vertical line that continues to the feet. Before the mirror, look not only at the hem but at the flow from waist to shoe. If the cloth pulls anywhere when you walk, tell your butler there and then. We arrange the attire for both the standing and the walking figure.

IIIArranging the tie first fixes the centre of the waistcoat and collar

The purpose of arranging the tie is to fix the centre line of the attire first. You settle the knot between the collar points and check in the mirror that it does not lean to either side. When the waistcoat is layered afterwards, the area visible at the chest and the balance of the whole are easier to confirm.

There is no need to worry if you are not used to tying one. Your butler assists while watching the knot and the lie of the collar. Rather than tightening firmly, we settle it where it does not hinder your breathing.

In photographs, the chest is where the eye gathers. The tie is visible not only in a frontal portrait but in the side view as you present tea. Once the centre has been fixed while changing, you may give your attention afterwards to your hands and your gaze.

The tie, by your butler

A small knot, set between the collar points.

IVThe waistcoat is arranged as a single plane from chest to waist

The role of the waistcoat is to bridge the shirt and the coat, and to present the chest and waist neatly. It is layered after the tie, and the front buttons and hem are checked. Rather than fastening with the cloth pulled taut, we find the position where it lies naturally.

In the mirror, look not only at the buttons but at whether the two sides sit at the same height. Because the hem can shift when you stand after bending, we also check the figure after sitting and rising. Your butler attends to the back as well, quietly correcting what you cannot see yourself.

With the waistcoat settled, the figure with the coat open also gains composure. Thinking of the moments in which you will extend your arms during the skills, we check that shoulders and chest are not hard to move. We value both the appearance and the ease of movement needed to handle tea and silverware.

VThe morning coat is completed by fastening a single front button

Wearing the coat well means letting it follow the shoulders without strain and fastening a single front button to complete the line of the whole figure. Once your arms are through the sleeves, your butler looks at the collar, the shoulders, the back and the tails in that order, returning the cloth to where it naturally falls rather than pulling it.

The single button that fastens the front, small as it is, decides the impression of the whole. We bring the two fronts together before fastening, and check that the chest is not pulled. If the position lets you breathe without the posture giving way, you will also pass the time standing at ease.

Whether bowing before the door or taking silverware in hand, the line of the coat remains as the background. Your butler does not judge from the front alone, but moves to the side and behind to check as far as the tails. Keep your eyes forward in the mirror, relax your shoulders and leave it to us.

VIThe single button is the signal to pass from dressing to bearing

Fastening the single button not only completes the form; it is a signal to change your stance and your frame of mind. In the experience, once it is fastened you compose your posture and move on to the next skill.

A butler's time begins with the fastening of a single button.

VIOnce the black leather shoes are on, check even the walking figure in the mirror

Arranging the feet means not only putting on the black leather shoes, but checking the whole figure standing and walking. The Manor also provides shoes, as a guide in sizes 24.0 to 27.5 cm. For sizes outside this range, please consult us in advance.

With the shoes on, we look at how they meet the hem, the direction of each foot and the feel as you walk. There is no need to proceed to the skills while bearing pain or looseness. If you wish to use your own black leather shoes, please tell your butler at the time of booking.

Take a few short turns before the mirror and watch how the tails of the coat and the line of the stripes move. This is the time in which the costume settles into your own movement.

VIIThe white gloves go on last, once everything else is in place

The reason the white gloves come last is so that the cloth is not soiled while the tie and buttons are being arranged, and so that once they are on, your mind turns to the handling of silverware. Push each finger fully in and settle the gloves at the wrist, smoothing out creases from the fingertips.

With gloves on, the sensation at the fingertips differs from usual. Rather than taking up silverware at once, first fold your hands before you and open and close the fingers to grow used to them. Your butler then shows you the position of the hand that receives and the hand that presents.

White gloves are the tool for handling silverware and porcelain with clean hands, leaving no fingerprints. Putting them on last marks the end of dressing and the threshold at which your bearing as an apprentice butler begins.

IXIn the mirror, check the collar, the centre, the shoulders, the hem and the hands, in that order

The final check means not looking at details at random, but moving from top to bottom in the same order every time. Your eye travels from the collar and tie to the centre of the waistcoat, the shoulders of the coat and the single button, the stripes of the trousers, the shoes and the white gloves. A fixed order of checking leaves less overlooked.

Looking in a mirror alone, attention gathers on the front. In the experience, your butler checks the side and the back, and speaks only where needed. Holding your posture and leaving it to us, rather than twisting round again and again, is itself a time to learn the rhythm between the one who is served and the one who serves.

Once the costume is in place, fold your hands quietly before you. From here you are no longer adjusting the clothes, but layering movements that suit them. As an experience operated by the Japan Butler Association, a general incorporated association, we do not let the attire end as mere form; your butler accompanies you as far as the bearing that expresses consideration for others.

XWe adapt the changing to the season and the number of guests

What needs attention changes with the season. On warm days we ask how you are feeling before you change, and check that the layers are not a strain once on. On rainy days we settle your feet after you enter the Manor, so that the damp from outside is not carried into the costume. Judgements suited to the weather are made by your butler on the day.

In an experience for one, you can attend to the mirror and your butler's voice and confirm your own changes at leisure. When two take part, we dress each in turn while watching how the other is progressing. We discuss numbers in advance and arrange a flow in which up to six can move safely within the Manor.

XIThe etiquette of the costume continues through the photograph and changing back

Before a photograph is taken, we look not only at the costume but at its balance with the background. Before the door, the vertical line of the coat comes through; in the Dining Room, the white-gloved hands; in the gallery, the walking figure. Because the same attire reads differently according to where you stand and what you do, your butler chooses the scene within the Manor.

What to remember once you are dressed is that this is not a costume for competing in correctness. The single button, the straightened collar and the quiet hands exist to show respect to the person before you. Once your eyes leave the mirror, you pass into the bearing of a butler who watches the other's movements closely and anticipates them.

Before you leave, we keep to an order in removing the costume as well. You take off the white gloves, hand the coat to your butler, loosen the waistcoat and tie, and then proceed to the shirt and trousers. Not setting the borrowed costume down carelessly, but passing it with both hands, is the continuation of the etiquette you touched upon that day.

XIIFor any concern about sizes, consult your butler before booking

Looking again at the photograph of yourself in the morning coat after changing back into your own clothes, you will understand what it meant to arrange everything from collar to feet. Even if at first the costume seems to wear you, as you layer posture, the bow, tea and silverware, the attire becomes bound to your movement.

If you have concerns about the costume before booking, please tell us not only your height and shoe size but your build and what you usually wear. Your butler checks in advance and replies with what can be prepared on the day. Beginning with a conversation rather than assumptions is what leads to a calm and unhurried changing.