clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

, a train describes the long back portion of a

robe A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoil ...

coat A coat is typically an outer garment for the upper body, worn by any gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners (AKA velcro), ...

cloak A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, which serves the same purpose as an overcoat and protects the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. People in many d ...

skirt A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are ...

overskirt An overskirt is a type of women's short skirt which is draped over another garment, such as a skirt, breeches, or trousers. Although peplum is often used as another term for overskirt, it should not be confused with the ''peplos'' or "peplum dres ...

, or

dress A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a one-piece outer garment that is worn on the torso, hangs down over the legs, and is primarily worn by women or girls. Dresses often consist of a bodice attached to a skirt. Dress shapes, silh ...

that trails behind the wearer. It is a common part of ceremonial robes in

academic dress Academic dress is a traditional form of clothing for academia, academic settings, mainly tertiary education, tertiary (and sometimes secondary schools, secondary) education, worn mainly by those who have obtained a university degree (or simila ...

court dress Court dress comprises the style of clothes and other attire prescribed for members of court, courts of law. Depending on the country and jurisdiction's traditions, members of the court (judges, magistrates, and so on) may wear formal robes, g ...

or court uniform. It is also a common part of a woman's formal

evening gown An evening gown, evening dress or gown is a long dress usually worn at formal occasions. The drop ranges from Ballerina skirt, ballerina (mid-calf to just above the ankles), Tea length, tea (above the ankles), to Skirt length, full-length. S ...

s or

wedding dress A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. Wedding dresses hold a significan ...

es.

Types of train

Fashion

* Court train – Worn for formal court occasions, the court train had to fall in with strict dress codes which differed from court to court. For example, the French court code set in 1804 by

Jean-Baptiste Isabey Jean-Baptiste Isabey (; 11 April 1767 – 18 April 1855) was a French artist during both the First Empire and the Restoration. Early life and education Isabey was born in Nancy, France on 11 April 1767. At the age of 19, following some lessons ...

prescribed a four-inch maximum width for embroidered train borders for non-Royal wearers. In Britain it was required to be three yards in length at the minimum.''Dress and Insignia Worn at His Majesty's Court''. Various editions 1898-1937 * Double train – Two trains attached to the same dress, or a single train divided into two trains. * Fishtail train – A train popular at various times from the 1870s onwards, flaring out from midway down a close-fitting skirt. * Demi-train – A short train formed by having the back of the garment slightly longer than the front.

Wedding dress

Trains in modern (20th and 21st century) bridal wear have their own terminology: * Cathedral train – also known as a monarch train, this can measure up to . A royal cathedral train is considered the longest, most formal train, measuring up to or more. * Chapel train – a medium length train up to five feet (1.1 to 1.5 metres) long. * Court train – in bridal terminology, a court train is a narrow train extending 1 metre behind. * Sweep train – a short train that does not necessarily reach the floor. It is so called because it might just sweep the ground. * Watteau train – a modern version of the pleated backs (called 'Watteau pleats') seen in 18th century

sack-back gown __NOTOC__ The sack-back gown or ''robe à la française'' was a women's fashion of 18th century Europe. At the beginning of the century, the sack-back gown was a very informal style of dress. At its most informal, it was unfitted both front and b ...

s. Brides of the Ndebele people of South Africa traditionally wear long beaded trains hung from the shoulder, known as ''nyoga'' (snake).

Trains as part of uniform

Trains are a common feature of the Royal mantles of Kings and Princes, as well as the mantles of many

chivalric orders An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is a society, fellowship and college of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and pai ...

. Officers of older, traditional universities generally wear distinctive and more elaborate dress. The

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

and the

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

may wear a black damask lay type gown with a long train. In France the train is now usually hooked to the inner side of the robe. The

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English and ...

, when robed, dresses like a High Court Judge with the distinction of a train to his scarlet robe. Judges of the Court of Appeal wear the black silk damask gown, trained and heavily embellished with gold embroidery. French court dress includes a train, now buttoned to the inside of the robe and suspended by fabric bands, a vestige of the former practice of lawyers carrying their trains. The

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

, the

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, and other high dignitaries also wear similar embroidered black robes with trains. The

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

also wears a robe with a train. A trained robe, the ''cappa magna'' (great cape) remains in use in the Catholic Church for certain ceremonial occasions. Cardinals,

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s, and certain other honorary

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

s are entitled to wear the ''cappa magna'', but within the territory of their jurisdiction. Eastern Orthodox bishops also traditionally use a cloak with a long train known as the

Mandyas A mantle (; ) is an ecclesiastical garment in the form of a very full cape that extends to the floor, joined at the neck, that is worn over the outer garments. Especially in the case of Elijah, it was likely a tallit, a Hebrew garment that hous ...

, which may have parallels with the development of the Catholic ''cappa magna''. Dainagon Kinto beside a Waterfall LACMA M

For male peers, the Coronation robe is a cloak of crimson velvet extending to the feet, open in the front (with white silk satin ribbon ties) with train trailing behind. The Parliament robe of a British peer is a full-length garment of scarlet

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

with a collar of white

miniver Miniver, an unspotted white fur edged with grey, derives originally from the winter coat of the red squirrel. In England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island ...

fur, cut long as a train, but this is usually kept hooked up inside the garment.Cox, Noel (1999). "The Coronation and Parliamentary Robes of the British Peerage." ''Arma, the Journal of the Heraldry Society of Southern Africa''. Vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 289–293. Retrieved on 2007-10-19. Court dresses for women were commonly fifteen yards in length. Court dresses for noble women sometimes had trains both behind and in front of the dress. Japanese Imperial court clothing, sokutai for men and

jūnihitoe The , more formally known as the , is a style of formal court dress first worn in the Heian period by noble women and Lady-in-waiting, ladies-in-waiting at the Japanese Imperial Court. The was composed of a number of kimono-like robes, layered o ...

for women, both include a long train extending from the back of the robe. It remains in use with the

Imperial Household of Japan The is the reigning dynasty of Japan, consisting of those members of the extended family of the reigning emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present constitution of Japan, the emperor is "the symbol of the State ...

for ceremonial occasions.

History

Trains declined in popularity in the late nineteenth century when they were targeted by public health campaigns in Europe and the United States that argued they brought germs from the streets into the wearers' homes. The issue was the subject of a cartoon published in '' Puck'' in 1900 entitled "The Trailing Skirt: Death Loves a Shining Mark."

Gallery

File:Legal Service for Wales 2013 (180).JPG, The Lord Chief Justice, 2013 File:George Wyatt Truscott Vanity Fair 4 November 1908.JPG, The scarlet robe, with train, Lord Mayor of London File:John Charles Spencer, Viscount Althorp, 3rd Earl Spencer (1782-1845) by Henry Pierce Bone.jpg, Chancellor of the Exchequer Robe of State File:Troy - Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1655-1746), marquis de Torcy.jpg, Mantle of the Knights of the

Order of the Holy Spirit The Order of the Holy Spirit (; sometimes translated into English as the Order of the Holy Ghost) is a French order of chivalry founded by Henry III of France in 1578. Today, it is a dynastic order under the House of France. It should not be c ...

, France File:Hoare - William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham.jpg, Coronation robes of an earl, William Pitt File:Cardeal franc rodé.jpg, Cardinal Rode wearing a winter cappa magna File:Bishop Irenaeus (Ćirić).jpg, Serbian Orthodox bishop in mandyas File:FWIV.jpg, King Frederick William IV of Prussia in mantle File:Izabel Bavor.jpg,

Isabeau of Bavaria Isabeau of Bavaria (or Isabelle; also Elisabeth of Bavaria-Ingolstadt; c. 1370 – 24 September 1435) was Queen of France as the wife of King Charles VI of France, Charles VI from 1385 to 1422. She was born into the House of Wittelsbach a ...

with long ermine-lined train; c. late 14th century or early 15th century File:La Comtesse de Mailly (ca. 1698).jpg,

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

with train, 1698 File:Pauline Bonaparte princesse Borghese.jpg,

Pauline Bonaparte Paula Maria Bonaparte Leclerc Borghese (, ; 20 October 1780 – 9 June 1825), better known as Pauline Bonaparte, was an imperial French princess, the first sovereign Duchess of Guastalla, and the princess consort of Sulmona and Rossano. She was th ...

manteau de cour, a train attached at chest level, introduced by Napoleon,Ingrid Loschek ''Reclams Mode- und Kostümlexikon.'' Reclam, Stuttgart 1987, , S. 156. 1808 File:Fashion Plate (Court Dress) LACMA M.83.161.213.jpg, Court dress and train, English, 1822 File:Victor Meirelles - Dona Tereza Cristina.jpg, Empress Teresa Cristina of Brazil in court dress and train of green velvet with gold embroidery, 1864 Image:Toulmouche Love Letter Detail.jpg, Evening gown with train, 1883 File:La Bulaquena by Juan Luna.jpg, ''Saya de cola'' (lit. "skirt train") of the ''traje de mestiza'' during the late 19th century (erroneously referred to as a

Maria Clara gown The María Clara gown, historically known as the ''traje de mestiza'' during the Spanish colonial era, is a type of traditional dress worn by women in the Philippines. It is an aristocratic version of the ''baro't saya''. It takes its name ...

) from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Note the manner of the woman's arms and hands, which depict the traditional method of holding the train at the time. File:Liv med släp till brud- och hovpresentationsklänning, Storbritannien - Livrustkammaren - 13441.tif, Court presentation dress and train, 1897 File:Bride 1920s.jpg, Short wedding dress with long train attached. 1920s Image:Weddingring 2007-6-23-1.jpg, Japanese bride in a white dress with train, 2007