The Japanese describe it well: “TPO” – Time, Place, Occasion.
The rule of dressing correctly according to Time, Place, Occasion.
The first school dress code law was established in 1969 by the U.S. Supreme Court. The case, known as Tinker vs. Des Moines Independent School District, involved several high school students who wore black armbands to school in a planned protest against the Vietnam War.
A dress code is a set of rules, often written, with regards to what clothing groups of people must wear. Dress codes are created out of social perceptions and norms, and vary based on purpose, circumstances, and occasions. Different societies and cultures are likely to have different dress codes, Western dress codes being a prominent example.
Dress codes are symbolic indications of different social ideas, including social class, cultural identity, attitude towards comfort, tradition, and political or religious affiliations. Dress code also allows individuals to read others behavior as good, or bad by the way they express themselves with their choice of apparel.
Europe
See also: Western dress codes, Sumptuary laws, and English medieval clothing
In seventh through the ninth centuries, the European royalty and nobility used a dress code to differentiate themselves from other classes of people. All classes generally wore the same clothing, although distinctions among the social hierarchy began to become more noticeable through ornamented garments. Common pieces of clothing worn by peasants and the working class included plain tunics, cloaks, jackets, pants, and shoes. According to rank, embellishments adorned the collar of the tunic, waist or border. Examples of these decorations included, as James Planché states, “gold and silver chains and crosses, bracelets of gold, silver or ivory, golden and jeweled belts, strings of amber and other beads, rings, brooches, [and] buckles”. The nobility tended to wear longer tunics than the lower social classes.
While dress codes of modern-day Europeans are less strict, there are some exceptions. It is possible to ban certain types of clothing in the workplace, as exemplified by the European Court of Justice’s verdict that “a ban on Islamic headscarves at work can be lawful.”
Brummell
The origin of the Dress Code can be traced back to the late 18th century, when menswear ICONS such as Brummell abandoned the elaborate patralia and popularized a minimalist style during the Regency era — wearing dark blue or black coats, often with trousers in place of breechis, and white shirts, vests, and neckbands.
By the 1840s, minimalist black and white ensembles had become standard evening wear for upper-class men. Starting with formal attire, the Dress Code evolves.
In fact, what we often see on proper British invitations.
Prince William’s wedding invitation that year
Time, place, occasion, Dress Code
Time: 11 a.m
Venue: The Palace of Westminster
Occasion: Wedding
Dress Code: a uniform, morning Dress, or business suit
The actual wedding: The princes were in uniform.
Dress Code in the UK is to give you the main information and Dress according to who you are.
A quick word about the wedding:
Wedding = formal attire
11 am = formal attire for the day
Palace of Westminster = Very formal, be aware of your social status
Guests then dress according to the TPO:
Military: uniform
Official, queen’s medal, government official: morning coat
Others: business suits
When it comes to who wears what, it depends on which “great group” you belong to. You must be conscious and not categorize yourself wrong.
Here’s a wedding invitation for a couple in Georgia:
Just tell you what to wear. We’re all the same.
Therefore, Dress Code will evolve and deform in different countries (including China and Japan, etc.) according to local culture.