Two weeks ago I was asked to attend a wedding. My usual concern for this is if I have the time to attend it, as my work schedule with Global Fast Fit does keep me very occupied, but another case for concern would be if I can dress the part depending on their requirements. I do have a wide selection of fitted suits to choose from, many purchased pre-lockdowns when business with my production company was booming, and also several more recent choices as John insists on outfitting me as he considers my casual wear atrocious.

I was surprised to learn that none of my wardrobe would be suitable, not due to the color scheme, but due to the theme. The groom stated in his invitation that morning ceremony required "traditional Thai" clothing only. The evening ceremony along the beach would be much more conventional as suits would be the standard choice for dress.

"Traditional Thai" can be interpreted in many ways, but in a formal setting, the groom most likely meant the formal dress in the era of Rama V, King Chulalongkorn. King Chulalongkorn's reign was one of modernizing Thailand (or Siam at the time) and it was common for nobility to adopt more Victorian-era (1860's onward) clothing to show a more sophisticated style of dress. This upper part of this dress featured the phraratchathan (พระราชทาน) for men, a stylish yet no-nonsense button-up jacket with standing collar adopted from British India. The lower part of this dress would be the chongkraben (โจงกระเบน), a unisex wrap around cloth which still holds more of what would be considered the traditional style of dress, as it was worn by ancient Khmers who adopted their style of dress from Indian influences.

It isn't uncommon to see Thais wanting to depict national pride to wear clothing from this period. It was certainly one where Siam made great strides as a country in building a nation that could show European powers that we were capable of the same elegance and poise along with the diplomatic acuity that allowed us to remain uncolonized throughout history.

I went a different route based off of the requirements of "Traditional Thai" considering there was a traditional morning and modern evening segment for the wedding. I had a phraratchathan (พระราชทาน) custom made for myself, but also went with dark black fitted trousers instead of the ancient chongkraben (โจงกระเบน). This style of dress was the vision of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram who in 1941 banned elements of the Victorian era dress in favor of something even more modern. Such style of dress is what you would see now among Thailand's nobility and military elite for ceremonial purposes. You could call it the perfect marriage of traditional and modern.