Overview
A suea phraratchathan (royally bestowed shirt) is a plain shirt with an upright mandarin collar and a front button placket, made in versions from an everyday short-sleeved shirt to a long-sleeved formal one worn with a sash for the grandest occasions. Cut from Thai silk or cotton, it is dignified and suited to the climate.
How it is worn
It is worn buttoned to the collar with trousers, plain for daily official dress and, in its most formal long-sleeved form with a sabai-like sash, for state ceremonies and weddings. It gives Thai men a national formal dress that needs no jacket or necktie.
History
King Bhumibol Adulyadej introduced the suea phraratchathan in 1979 as a modern Thai formal shirt, drawing on the earlier raj-pattern jacket, so that men would have a national dress to match the women’s chut thai. It is now standard formal and official wear for Thai men.