Cummerbund

cummerbund A cummerbund is a broad waist sash, usually pleated, which is often worn with single-breasted dinner jackets (or tuxedos). The cummerbund was adopted by British military officers in colonial India, where they saw it worn by sepoys (Indian soldiers) of the British Indian Army. It was adopted as an alternative to the waistcoat, and later spread to civilian use. The modern use of the cummerbund for Europeans and North Americans is as a component of the traditional black tie Western dress code.

cummerbund A cummerbund is a broad waist sash, usually pleated, which is often worn with single-breasted dinner jackets (or tuxedos). The cummerbund was adopted by British military officers in colonial India, where they saw it worn by sepoys (Indian soldiers) of the British Indian Army. It was adopted as an alternative to the waistcoat, and later spread to civilian use. The modern use of the cummerbund for Europeans and North Americans is as a component of the traditional black tie Western dress code. ==Etymology== The word cummerbund is the Anglicized form of Hindustani kamarband (Hindustani: कमरबंद; ), which originated from the Persian ( ). It entered English vocabulary in 1616 from India. It is a combination of the Persian words kamar meaning 'waist' and band meaning 'to close' or 'fasten' (not to be confused with ‘band’ from Old Norse, reinforced in late Middle English by Old French bande, of Germanic origin; related to bind, though both ultimately descend from Proto-Indo-European "to bind", "bond"). The 'waist-band' was a sash accessory worn by Indian men for many occasions. The word cummerband (see below), and less commonly the German spelling (a Germanized spelling variation of the English word), are often used synonymously with cummerbund in English. ==Description== ===Form and occasion=== The form of the cummerbund is a wide band around the waist. The fastening is a ribbon around the back, tied or held shut by a buckle or velcro. The contemporary use of the cummerbund is purely aesthetic, providing a transition between the shirt and the waistband. They have also expanded in less formal situations into use with components of white tie, particularly by musicians, who sometimes wear a white cummerbund instead of the traditional piqué waistcoat. ===Pleats=== The pleats face up because they were originally used to hold ticket stubs and similar items, explaining the slang name 'crumb-catcher'. However, the cummerbunds worn as part of the US Army Blue Mess and Blue Evening Mess uniforms are worn with the pleats down, as prescribed by Army Regulation 670–1 Chapter 24 Section 10(b). The US Navy Uniform Regulations NAVPERS 15665 stipulate the cummerbund be worn with the pleats up for the Navy Dinner Dress Jacket. ===Colours=== Its origin as part of black tie determined the acceptable colours. It was adopted as civilian dress, beginning as a largely summer option with informal dinner jackets, such as Burmese fawn and white, later, it was restricted to the narrow range of colours which accompany black tie. These were predominantly black, sometimes midnight blue to match the trousers, and occasionally maroon (the normal hue for coloured accessories). In contemporary use, it is now common to see coloured bow ties and cummerbunds, often matching, but this is considered non-traditional. ==See also== Haramaki (clothing) Obi (sash)#Men's obi Obi (martial arts) ==References== he:אבנט

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