Evening star., 1922-07-09
Why Ambassador Harvey Wore Knee Breeches

is no trifling matter, but part and
parcel of the law of England. sub
sisting under the authority of acts of
tice, or public instructions proceed
ing from the crown. The earliest
statute on the subject of precedence
| is the thirty first OFF Henry VIII.
TMPASSIONED patriots who consider
that Ambassador Harvey betrayed
the high traditions of his country by
appearing at Princess Mary's we'd
ding and on other occasions in knee
breeches will be even more greatly
shocked over the fact that the cos
tune worn at court at the present
| time by Americans and British sub
! jects alike, other than those in the
military and naval service, was de-
vised by Mr.. Buchanan, American
minister at London in 1853. Mr..
Buchanan, however, included a sword
| and cooked hat.
Frock dress. worn by members of
the American embassy at courts.
state balls and evening and state par
ties. dinners and receptions now con-
sists of black evening dress coat,
| lapelled black or white evening dress
vest breeches of plain black evening
dress material. with three small black
cloth or silk buttons and small jet or
| black buckles at the knees: black silk
hose, plain court shoes with bows, no
| buckles: white evening dress bow tie
| and white gloves and an opera hat.
Evening dress with trousers is worn
at levees at which the king receives
and the queen is not present.
| Gentlemen not of the diplomatic
corps, army or navy wear coats and
knee breeches of black silk velvet.
| the former single-breasted with
| standing collar and the latter with
three small steel buttons and steel
buckles at the knees; white satin or
black silk velvet waistcoat. black silk
hose and black patent leather shoes
with steel buckles; black beaver or
silk cooked hat with steel loop on
black silk cockade or rosette; a
sword with steel hilt, black scabbard
and steel mounting, and sword belt
of black silk web worn under the
waistcoat with black velvet frog for
the sword; white bow necktie and
white gloves. At levees trousers of
black silk velvet may be worn.
The only departure from the re-
quired court dress at an evening func-
tion in London was on the occasion of
, -, the dinner given for Presidet Wilson
when he was a guest at Buckingham
Palace. Mr. Wilson had no knee
breeches in his outfit, and in courtesy
to him the king, for the first time in
his life, appeared at a state dinner In
evening dress, all the gentlemen.
other than officers of the army and
navy, invited for the occasion, which
brought together one of the most dis
tinguished companies ever enter
tanned at the British court having
been instructed to do likewise.
x* X X
-HERE was a time when American
diplomats had their own uniform
and prescribed court dress, but 1t was
no such modest and upassumihg cos
tune as the one worn today at Lon
don, The following memorandum of
the dress of an American minister, as
fixed by the mission to Ghent," is
contained III a State Department cir
cular, dated November 6, 1917:
"A blue coat. lined with white silk;
straight standing cape. embroidered
with gold, single-breasted, straight
or round buttonholes slightly en-
! broidered; buttons plain. or, If they
can be had. with the artillerists' eagle
stamped upon them, /. e. an eagle