The hitatare was allowed to be worn by samurai ranked at Shii (Fourth Rank) and above, but this applied to those where the high officials of bakufu appeared in great numbers, such as the powerful daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) in hereditary vassals to the Tokugawa family, daimyo having a domain of one province or more, the Three families of the shogun, and the shogun himself.
直垂の着用が許されたのは四位以上の武士に限られたが、これはほぼ幕閣を輩出する有力譜代大名、国持大名、御三家、将軍に重なる。