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Suit (history)
Encyclopedia
The man's suit
of clothes, in the sense of a lounge or business or office suit, is a set of garments which are crafted from the same cloth. This article discusses the history of the lounge suit, often called a business suit when made in dark colours and of conservative cut.
The current styles were founded in a period of sartorial revolution during the early 19th century. This sharply changed the elaborately embroidered and jeweled formal clothing into the simpler clothing of the Regency period, which gradually evolved to the stark formality of the Victorian era. It was in the search for more comfort that the loosening of rules gave rise in the late 19th century to the modern lounge suit.
The suit is a traditional form of men's formal clothes in the Western world. For some four hundred years, suits of matching coat, trousers, and waistcoat have been in and out of fashion. The modern lounge suit's derivation is visible in the outline of the brightly-coloured, elaborately-crafted royal court dress
of the 17th century (suit, wig, knee breeches), which was shed because of the French Revolution
. This evolution is seen more recently in British tailoring's use of steam and padding in moulding wool
en cloth, the rise and fall in popularity of the necktie
, and the gradual disuse of waistcoats and hats in the last fifty years.
The modern lounge suit appeared in the late 19th century, but traces its origins to the simplified, sartorial standard of dress established by the British king Charles II
in the 17th century. In 1666, the restored monarch, Charles II, per the example of King Louis XIV
's court at Versailles
, decreed that in the English Court men would wear a long coat, a waistcoat (then called "petticoat
"), a cravat
(a precursor of the necktie), a wig, and knee breeches
(trousers), and a hat.
Beau Brummell
redefined and adapted this style, then popularised it, leading Europe
an men to wearing well-cut, tailored clothes, adorned with carefully knotted neckties. The simplicity of the new clothes and their sombre colours contrasted strongly with the extravagant, fop
pish styles just before. Brummell's influence introduced the modern era of men's clothing which now includes the modern suit and necktie. Moreover, he introduced a whole new era of grooming and style, including regular (daily) bathing as part of a man's toilet.
In this regency period, the predominant upper-class clothing introduced by Brummell for day wear was a tightly fitting, dark coloured tailcoat with non-matching (usually pale) trousers, pale waistcoat, white shirt and cravat and tall boots.
, the frock coat
, initially not just black, became popular, and quickly became the standard daily clothing for gentlemen. From the middle of the 19th century, a new (then informal) coat, the morning coat, became acceptable. It was a less formal garment, with a cut away front, making it suitable for wearing while riding. Morning dress and the frock coat garments were not suits, because they were worn with trousers that didn't match in color or fabric; a matching waistcoat and trousers were considered informal, clothes described as such in the short-lived term "ditto suit
". The frock coat was still the standard garment for all formal or business occasions, and a tailcoat was worn in the evenings.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the modern lounge suit was born as a very informal garment meant only to be worn for sports, in the country, or at the seaside.
Parallel to this, the dinner jacket was invented and came to be worn for informal evening events. It was descended from white tie
(the dress code associated with the evening tailcoat) but quickly became a full new garment, the dinner jacket, with a new dress code, initially known as 'dress lounge' and later black tie
. When it was imported to the United States
, it became known as the tuxedo
. The 'dress lounge' was originally worn only for small private gatherings and white tie
('White tie and tails') was still worn for large formal events. The 'dress lounge' slowly became more popular for larger events as an alternative to full evening dress in white tie.
The beginning of the Edwardian era in the early 20th century brought a steady decline in the wearing of frock coats
as the morning coat rose in relative formality, first becoming acceptable for businessmen, then becoming standard dress even in town. The lounge suit was slowly accepted as being correct outside its original settings, and during Edwardian times gradually began to be seen in town. While still reserved for private gatherings, usually with no ladies, black tie became more common.
In North America
, the "sack suit", a cut of lounge suit, saw a large rise in popularity, and, except for the shoulders, it is unfitted, loose, and informal, as it has no darts.
In the 1920s men began wearing wide straight legged trousers with their suits. These trousers normally measured 23 inches around the cuff. Younger men often wore even wider legged trousers which were known as "Oxford Bags." Trousers also began to be worn cuffed shortly after World War I and this style persisted until World War II. Trousers first began to be worn creased in the 1920s. Trousers were worn very highly-waisted throughout the 1920s and this fashion remained in vogue until the 1940s. Single-breasted suits were in style throughout the 1920s and the double-breasted suit was mainly worn by older more conservative men. In the 1920s, very fashionable men would often wear double-breasted waistcoasts (with four buttons on each side) with single-breasted coats. Lapels on single-breasted suits were fashionably worn peaked and were often wide. In the early 1930s these styles continued and were often even further exaggerated.
Before 1935 (and again in the 1970s) men preferred snugly-tailored coats and waistcoats, however, since then, the mainstream trend has been for looseness. In 1935, a complete change in style occurred. Loose fitting coats were introduced, trousers began to be tapered at the bottom and suit coats began to have tapered arms. These new trends were only reluctantly accepted by men at first. At first the waistcoat continued to be made in the traditional fitted and snug style. By 1940, the waistcoat began to be made in a loose style which made it uncomfortable to wear. In fashion magazines of the day, men complained how these new vests continually rode up when they happen to sit down or bend over. Fashionable men changed their preference to the double-breasted suit coat at this time and it would remain in fashion for the next two decades.
By this time, morning dress was being replaced by day time semi-formal, known in America as the stroller
. This was quite popular, but has actually been outlived by the morning coat. Since the 1950's it has been used as a black version of the lounge suit as an informal look to the dinner jacket. In modern times the black lounge suit has become popular to wear during the day.
The New York Times Style Magazine explains one iconic suit of the era, the gray flannel suit:
In the late 1960s and early 1970s the Nehru jacket
style was worn by a few in the United States — Johnny Carson
for example.
In the 1970s, a snug-fitting suit coat became popular once again and this style permitted the return of the waistcoat. This new three-piece suit style became associated with disco
music and its culture, specifically popularised by the film Saturday Night Fever
, where the tight waistcoat was basic to that fashion. The tight three-piece suit was equated with the discothèque culture. The socially conservative backlash against disco music culture ended the popularity of snug-fitting three piece suits.
The 1980s saw a trend towards the simplification of the suit once again. The jacket became looser and the waistcoat was completely dispensed with. A few suit makers continued to make waistcoats, but these tended to be cut very low and often had only four buttons. The waistline on the suit coat went down again in the 1980s to a position well below the waist. By 1985-1986, three-piece suits were on the way out and making way for cut double-breasted
suits and two piece single-breasted
.
The early first decade of the 21st century saw the return to popularity of the three-button two-piece suit, which then went back out of fashion as the decade wore on.
The earliest women's suits were riding habit
s, which consisted of a tailored coat or jacket and matching skirt
from the 1660s. Practical and sturdy, riding habits were worn not only on horseback, but also for travel and other daytime pursuits. Suits not intended for riding appeared in the later 19th century. Both riding habits and walking suits reflected the skirt and sleeve
styles of the day.
In the first half of the 20th century, the skirted suit became the common daytime city costume for women, in the workplace and out; dressmaker
suits featured softer fabrics and "feminine" details, and cocktail suits were worn for semi-formal occasions in mid-century.
Under the influence of Dress for Success
, a working woman's uniform of skirted suit, tailored shirt, and floppy tie evolved in the 1970s and 1980s. Pantsuit
s (women's suits with trousers) were introduced by designer André Courrèges
in 1964 but were only gradually accepted as formal business attire.
s" and then extending to the entire business week. The abandonment of a uniform dress code has led to considerable confusion over what is considered appropriate business wear. More recently, some businesses have reinforced the wearing of suits, although they may never again be as common as they once were. A similar trend has occurred in Europe.
, extravagant variations on the tailored suit have been adopted by many subcultures over the last century as a matter of fashion or social identity. As early as 1922, Emily Post
addressed what she termed the "freak American suit" in her influential guide Etiquette:
Some of the non-traditional tailored suit styles of the past century include:
Suit (clothing)
In clothing, a suit is a set of garments made from the same cloth, consisting of at least a jacket and trousers. Lounge suits are the most common style of Western suit, originating in the United Kingdom as country wear...
of clothes, in the sense of a lounge or business or office suit, is a set of garments which are crafted from the same cloth. This article discusses the history of the lounge suit, often called a business suit when made in dark colours and of conservative cut.
The current styles were founded in a period of sartorial revolution during the early 19th century. This sharply changed the elaborately embroidered and jeweled formal clothing into the simpler clothing of the Regency period, which gradually evolved to the stark formality of the Victorian era. It was in the search for more comfort that the loosening of rules gave rise in the late 19th century to the modern lounge suit.
Men's suits
Court uniform and dress
- Court dress :On formal royal occasions in monarchies the dress worn by those present is prescribed by official regulations.Court dress is worn by all men not entitled to court uniform or military uniform on all occasions of state where such are customarily worn...
of the 17th century (suit, wig, knee breeches), which was shed because of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. This evolution is seen more recently in British tailoring's use of steam and padding in moulding wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
en cloth, the rise and fall in popularity of the necktie
Necktie
A necktie is a long piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck or shoulders, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. Variants include the ascot tie, bow tie, bolo tie, and the clip-on tie. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Neck...
, and the gradual disuse of waistcoats and hats in the last fifty years.
The modern lounge suit appeared in the late 19th century, but traces its origins to the simplified, sartorial standard of dress established by the British king Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
in the 17th century. In 1666, the restored monarch, Charles II, per the example of King Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
's court at Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
, decreed that in the English Court men would wear a long coat, a waistcoat (then called "petticoat
Petticoat
A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing for women; specifically an undergarment to be worn under a skirt or a dress. The petticoat is a separate garment hanging from the waist ....
"), a cravat
Cravat
The cravat is a neckband, the forerunner of the modern tailored necktie and bow tie, originating from 17th-century Croatia.From the end of the 16th century, the term band applied to any long-strip neckcloth that was not a ruff...
(a precursor of the necktie), a wig, and knee breeches
Breeches
Breeches are an item of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles...
(trousers), and a hat.
Regency
In the early 19th century, British dandyDandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance in a cult of Self...
Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell, born as George Bryan Brummell , was the arbiter of men's fashion in Regency England and a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV...
redefined and adapted this style, then popularised it, leading Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an men to wearing well-cut, tailored clothes, adorned with carefully knotted neckties. The simplicity of the new clothes and their sombre colours contrasted strongly with the extravagant, fop
Fop
Fop became a pejorative term for a foolish man over-concerned with his appearance and clothes in 17th century England. Some of the very many similar alternative terms are: "coxcomb", fribble, "popinjay" , fashion-monger, and "ninny"...
pish styles just before. Brummell's influence introduced the modern era of men's clothing which now includes the modern suit and necktie. Moreover, he introduced a whole new era of grooming and style, including regular (daily) bathing as part of a man's toilet.
In this regency period, the predominant upper-class clothing introduced by Brummell for day wear was a tightly fitting, dark coloured tailcoat with non-matching (usually pale) trousers, pale waistcoat, white shirt and cravat and tall boots.
Victorian
Towards the start of the Victorian periodVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, the frock coat
Frock coat
A frock coat is a man's coat characterised by knee-length skirts all around the base, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The double-breasted style is sometimes called a Prince Albert . The frock coat is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at the back, and some features...
, initially not just black, became popular, and quickly became the standard daily clothing for gentlemen. From the middle of the 19th century, a new (then informal) coat, the morning coat, became acceptable. It was a less formal garment, with a cut away front, making it suitable for wearing while riding. Morning dress and the frock coat garments were not suits, because they were worn with trousers that didn't match in color or fabric; a matching waistcoat and trousers were considered informal, clothes described as such in the short-lived term "ditto suit
Ditto suit
The ditto suit is an early precursor of the lounge suit but often had a coat more akin to a frock coat or morning coat. That the waistcoat and trousers were matching made the suit more informal than those with silk faced lapels worn with formal striped trousers.-External links:* on display at the...
". The frock coat was still the standard garment for all formal or business occasions, and a tailcoat was worn in the evenings.
Towards the end of the 19th century, the modern lounge suit was born as a very informal garment meant only to be worn for sports, in the country, or at the seaside.
White tie
White tie is the most formal evening dress code in Western fashion. It is worn to ceremonial occasions such as state dinners in some countries, as well as to very formal balls and evening weddings...
(the dress code associated with the evening tailcoat) but quickly became a full new garment, the dinner jacket, with a new dress code, initially known as 'dress lounge' and later black tie
Black tie
Black tie is a dress code for evening events and social functions. For a man, the main component is a usually black jacket, known as a dinner jacket or tuxedo...
. When it was imported to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, it became known as the tuxedo
Tuxedo
A tuxedo is a type of semi-formal dress for men.Tuxedo may also refer to:-Places:Canada* Tuxedo, Winnipeg, Manitoba, a city neighborhood** Tuxedo , a provincial electoral district in Manitoba...
. The 'dress lounge' was originally worn only for small private gatherings and white tie
White tie
White tie is the most formal evening dress code in Western fashion. It is worn to ceremonial occasions such as state dinners in some countries, as well as to very formal balls and evening weddings...
('White tie and tails') was still worn for large formal events. The 'dress lounge' slowly became more popular for larger events as an alternative to full evening dress in white tie.
Edwardian
Frock coat
A frock coat is a man's coat characterised by knee-length skirts all around the base, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The double-breasted style is sometimes called a Prince Albert . The frock coat is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at the back, and some features...
as the morning coat rose in relative formality, first becoming acceptable for businessmen, then becoming standard dress even in town. The lounge suit was slowly accepted as being correct outside its original settings, and during Edwardian times gradually began to be seen in town. While still reserved for private gatherings, usually with no ladies, black tie became more common.
In North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, the "sack suit", a cut of lounge suit, saw a large rise in popularity, and, except for the shoulders, it is unfitted, loose, and informal, as it has no darts.
Inter-war
After the end of the first World War, most men adopted the short lounge coated suit. Long coats quickly went out of fashion for everyday wear and business, and the morning coat gained its current classification of "formal". During the 1920s, short suits were always worn except on formal occasions when a morning coat would be worn for formal occasions in the daytime; old conservative men continued to wear a frock coat, or "Prince Albert coat" as it was known. In America, for evening occasions, the short dinner jacket virtually replaced the long "full dress" tails, which was perceived as "old hat" and was only worn by old conservative men. In Britain, black tie became acceptable as a general informal alternative to white tie, though at the time the style and accessories of black tie were still very fluid.In the 1920s men began wearing wide straight legged trousers with their suits. These trousers normally measured 23 inches around the cuff. Younger men often wore even wider legged trousers which were known as "Oxford Bags." Trousers also began to be worn cuffed shortly after World War I and this style persisted until World War II. Trousers first began to be worn creased in the 1920s. Trousers were worn very highly-waisted throughout the 1920s and this fashion remained in vogue until the 1940s. Single-breasted suits were in style throughout the 1920s and the double-breasted suit was mainly worn by older more conservative men. In the 1920s, very fashionable men would often wear double-breasted waistcoasts (with four buttons on each side) with single-breasted coats. Lapels on single-breasted suits were fashionably worn peaked and were often wide. In the early 1930s these styles continued and were often even further exaggerated.
Before 1935 (and again in the 1970s) men preferred snugly-tailored coats and waistcoats, however, since then, the mainstream trend has been for looseness. In 1935, a complete change in style occurred. Loose fitting coats were introduced, trousers began to be tapered at the bottom and suit coats began to have tapered arms. These new trends were only reluctantly accepted by men at first. At first the waistcoat continued to be made in the traditional fitted and snug style. By 1940, the waistcoat began to be made in a loose style which made it uncomfortable to wear. In fashion magazines of the day, men complained how these new vests continually rode up when they happen to sit down or bend over. Fashionable men changed their preference to the double-breasted suit coat at this time and it would remain in fashion for the next two decades.
By this time, morning dress was being replaced by day time semi-formal, known in America as the stroller
Stroller (style)
The stroller, also known as a Stresemann, a director, or simply black lounge is a form of men's semi-formal daytime dress comprising a single- or double-breasted coat , grey striped or checked formal trousers, a necktie , and a waistcoat...
. This was quite popular, but has actually been outlived by the morning coat. Since the 1950's it has been used as a black version of the lounge suit as an informal look to the dinner jacket. In modern times the black lounge suit has become popular to wear during the day.
Post-war
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s the trend had been to simplify and modernize the suit as much as possible. For example, by the 1960s the size of the lapel had shrunk to a very small size. Suit coats were also cut as straight as possible without any indication of a waistline. Cloth rationning changed styles significantly, contributing to a large reduction in the popularity of many cuts, such as the double-breasted suit.The New York Times Style Magazine explains one iconic suit of the era, the gray flannel suit:
Back in 1955, when denim was the height of rebelliousness, Sloan Wilson's novel The Man in the Gray Flannel SuitThe Man in the Gray Flannel SuitThe Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson, is a 1955 novel about the American search for purpose in a world dominated by business. Tom and Betsy Rath share a struggle to find contentment in their hectic and material culture while several other characters fight essentially the same battle,...
turned a men's classic into a synonym for drab, middle-class conformity . . . Flannel had humble beginnings — the name is reputedly derived from "gwlanen," Welsh for woolen cloth — and was used for underwear in the 19th century. In the 1880s white flannel was worn for summer sports; by the 1920s the more seasonless gray had become a favorite. When the Prince of Wales wore gray flannel trousers on his 1924 trip to America, they were aped by collegiates on both sides of the Atlantic. Cary Grant and Fred Astaire then carried the trend through to the 1940s. The archetypal square of the postwar era was later described by Esquire's style encyclopedia as ‘‘a neat, circumspect, conservative man who carried an attaché case and regarded a pink button-down shirt as his one sartorial fling.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s the Nehru jacket
Nehru jacket
The Nehru jacket is a hip-length tailored coat for men or women, created in India in the 1940s. The jacket essentially blends the collar of the achkan, historically the royal court dress of Indian nobles, with the Western suit jacket...
style was worn by a few in the United States — Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
for example.
In the 1970s, a snug-fitting suit coat became popular once again and this style permitted the return of the waistcoat. This new three-piece suit style became associated with disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
music and its culture, specifically popularised by the film Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
, where the tight waistcoat was basic to that fashion. The tight three-piece suit was equated with the discothèque culture. The socially conservative backlash against disco music culture ended the popularity of snug-fitting three piece suits.
The 1980s saw a trend towards the simplification of the suit once again. The jacket became looser and the waistcoat was completely dispensed with. A few suit makers continued to make waistcoats, but these tended to be cut very low and often had only four buttons. The waistline on the suit coat went down again in the 1980s to a position well below the waist. By 1985-1986, three-piece suits were on the way out and making way for cut double-breasted
Double-breasted
In clothing, the term double-breasted refers to a coat or jacket with wide, overlapping front flaps and two parallel columns of buttons or snaps; by contrast, a single-breasted coat has a narrow overlap and only one column of buttons. In most modern double-breasted coats, one column of buttons is...
suits and two piece single-breasted
Single-breasted
In clothing, single-breasted refers to a coat, jacket or similar garment having one column of buttons and a narrow overlap of fabric. In contrast, a double-breasted coat has a wider overlap and two parallel rows of buttons....
.
The early first decade of the 21st century saw the return to popularity of the three-button two-piece suit, which then went back out of fashion as the decade wore on.
Women's suits
The earliest women's suits were riding habit
Riding habit
A riding habit is women's clothing for horseback riding.Since the mid-17th century, a formal habit for riding sidesaddle usually consisted of:* A tailored jacket with a long skirt to match* A tailored shirt or chemisette...
s, which consisted of a tailored coat or jacket and matching skirt
Skirt
A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped garment that hangs from the waist and covers all or part of the legs.In the western world, skirts are usually considered women's clothing. However, there are exceptions...
from the 1660s. Practical and sturdy, riding habits were worn not only on horseback, but also for travel and other daytime pursuits. Suits not intended for riding appeared in the later 19th century. Both riding habits and walking suits reflected the skirt and sleeve
Sleeve
Sleeve is that part of a garment which covers the arm, or through which the arm passes or slips. The pattern of the sleeve is one of the characteristics of fashion in dress, varying in every country and period...
styles of the day.
In the first half of the 20th century, the skirted suit became the common daytime city costume for women, in the workplace and out; dressmaker
Dressmaker
A dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Also called a mantua-maker or a modiste.-Notable dressmakers:*Cristobal Balenciaga*Charles Frederick Worth...
suits featured softer fabrics and "feminine" details, and cocktail suits were worn for semi-formal occasions in mid-century.
Under the influence of Dress for Success
Dress for Success
Dress for Success may refer to:*Dress for Success, a best-selling 1975 book by John T. Molloy*An organization established by Nancy Lublin that provides women with interview suits and career development training...
, a working woman's uniform of skirted suit, tailored shirt, and floppy tie evolved in the 1970s and 1980s. Pantsuit
Pantsuit
A pantsuit or pant suit, also known as a trouser suit outside the USA, is a woman's suit of clothing consisting of trousers and a matching or coordinating coat or jacket....
s (women's suits with trousers) were introduced by designer André Courrèges
André Courrèges
André Courrèges is a French fashion designer, known for his ultra-modern designs. At the age of 25, after studying to be a civil engineer, he went to Paris to work at Geanne Lafaurie fashion design house...
in 1964 but were only gradually accepted as formal business attire.
Influence of casual dress
Over the past half-century, the wearing of suits has become far less common than it once was and is now usually reserved for formal and business activities. During the 1990s, many businesses in North America adopted casual dress codes, beginning with "casual FridayCasual Friday
Casual Friday along with dressing casually during the week became very prevalent during the Dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s rooted in a relaxed California-based business culture...
s" and then extending to the entire business week. The abandonment of a uniform dress code has led to considerable confusion over what is considered appropriate business wear. More recently, some businesses have reinforced the wearing of suits, although they may never again be as common as they once were. A similar trend has occurred in Europe.
Contemporary trends
Although the man's tailored suit is commonly perceived as the ultimate conservative costume of Western cultureWestern culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
, extravagant variations on the tailored suit have been adopted by many subcultures over the last century as a matter of fashion or social identity. As early as 1922, Emily Post
Emily Post
Emily Post was an American author famous for writing on etiquette.-Background:Post was born as Emily Price in Baltimore, Maryland, into privilege as the only daughter of architect Bruce Price and his wife Josephine Lee Price of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania...
addressed what she termed the "freak American suit" in her influential guide Etiquette:
- You will see it everywhere, on Broadway of every city and Main Street of every town, on the boardwalks and beaches of coast resorts, and even in remote farming villages. It comes up to hit you in the face year after year in all its amazing variations: waist-line under the arm pits, "trick" little belts, what-nots in the cuffs; trousers so narrow you fear they will burst before your eyes, pockets placed in every position, buttons clustered together in a tight little row or reduced to one. Such progressive styles may not reflect the international tastes or etiquette.
Some of the non-traditional tailored suit styles of the past century include:
- The Jazz suit of the early 1920s were extremely high-waisted and snug-fitting and were worn with trousers which were quite high-waisted and trouser legs were short and revealed the wearer's socks.
- The Zoot suitZoot suitA zoot suit is a suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. This style of clothing was popularized by African Americans, Mexican-Americans, and Italian Americans during the late 1930s and the 1940s...
of the late 1930s and 1940s. - The Western suit, a form of western wearWestern wearWestern wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th-century American West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of pioneer, mountain man, Civil War, cowboy and vaquero clothing to the stylized garments popularized by...
featuring a tailored jacket with "western" details such as pointed yokes or arrowhead pockets. - The Nudie suitNudie CohnNudie Cohn was a Russian-born American tailor who designed decorative rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as "Nudie Suits", and other elaborate outfits for some of the most famous celebrities of his era. He also became famous for his outrageous customized automobiles.-Early life:Cohn was...
, a highly decorated form of western wear. - The BeatleThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
suit, inspired by Pierre CardinPierre CardinPierre Cardin Cardin was known for his avant-garde style and his Space Age designs. He prefers geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical...
's collarless jackets, derived from Edwardian suits1900s in fashionFashion in the period 1900–1910 in European and European-influenced countries continued the long elegant lines of the 1890s. Tall, stiff collars characterize the period, as do women's broad hats and full "Gibson Girl" hairstyles...
. - The Mod suit, a fashion of the 1960s. Characteristics include a very slim cut, narrow lapels, three or four buttons and a strongly tapered waist. Usually single-breasted. The cloth generally consists in part of mohair.
- The Safari suitSafari suitThe safari suit was a style of men's suit popular in Australia in the 1970s, and in India until the late 1990s.-Origin:The safari suit was created by French designer Ted Lapidus and popularised by former South Australian Premier Don Dunstan....
, a fashion of the 1970s. Patterned after military dress uniforms worn in hot climates, it consisted of (long, but sometimes short) trousers and short-sleeved jacket with patch pockets of a light suiting fabric, typically of beige or pastel shades of blue and green. It was worn with a short-sleeved shirt, mostly of open neck design, but occasionally with a tie. Another style associated with this was the leisure suitLeisure suitA leisure suit is a casual suit consisting of a shirt-like jacket and matching trousers, often associated with American-influenced fashion and fads of the 1970s.-History:...
, which had a long-sleeved shirt-like jacket. - The DiscoDiscoDisco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
suit, a fashion of the 1970s with exaggerated lapels and flared trousers and usually necktie omitting, often in white or brightly-coloured polyesterPolyesterPolyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
fabric, the jacket was based on the jackets popular in the 1930s. - The Mandarin suit or Nehru JacketNehru jacketThe Nehru jacket is a hip-length tailored coat for men or women, created in India in the 1940s. The jacket essentially blends the collar of the achkan, historically the royal court dress of Indian nobles, with the Western suit jacket...
, a simpler style worn with no necktie, has become increasingly popular in the late 1990s and first decade of the 21st century. - The Power suit of the mid 1980s and early 1990s. It's a double breasted suit characterized by sharp cuts, wide shoulder pads and a stiff rigidity.