Suit

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At the Treaty of Versailles signing, in 1919, the heads of state wore morning dress and lounge suits for informal meetings, but frock coats for formal daytime meetings.

The man's suit of clothes is a garment, originated in England, that is crafted from the same cloth. The English word suit derives from the French suivre, “to follow”, i.e. trousers and waistcoat follow the coat's cloth and colour.

A man's suit of clothes comprises:

• coat
• trousers
• waistcoat (optional)

Its variants, lounge suit, business suit, three-piece suit, and two-piece suit denote garments the design, cut, and cloth of which determine its social and work suitability. Generally, the man's suit of clothes comprises the suit, itself, a collared shirt, necktie, and a hat. Yet, throughout the twentieth century, the hat fell from the mainstream of men's fashion, to the purview of the dandy.

Originally, as with most all clothes, a tailor crafted the suit from his client's selected cloth, i.e. "bespoke". Said suit was custom made to the measure, taste, and style of the the man. Yet, since the Industrial Revolution, most suits are produced en masse, and, as such, are sold as “off-the-peg”, “off-the-rack”, garments. Currently, there are two modes for a man to be suited, the original, crafted, bespoke mode, and the made-to-measure mode. The former is best for proper fit and function; the latter variant features an off-the-peg suit altered to fit the man.

History

The Man’s suit

Johann Christian Fischer in matching coat, waistcoat, and breeches, by Thomas Gainsborough, ca. 1780.

The suit is the traditional form of men’s formal clothes in the Western world. The modern suit appeared in the the early nineteenth century, but the coat’s origins trace to the simplified, sartorial standard of dress established by the British King Charles II in the seventeenth century, and redefined, adapted, and popularised in the early nineteenth century, by the British dandy Beau Brummell.

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 necktie), a wig, and knee breeches (trousers), and a a hat.

In the early 1800s, Brummel’s style led European men to wearing understated, well-cut, tailored suits, adorned with elaborately knotted neckties. Brummel's influence introduced the fashion of the modern suit and necktie. Moreover, he popularized regular (daily) bathing as part of a man's toilet. (Johnson, Birth of the Modern)

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 seventeenth century (suit, wig, knee breeches) shed consequent to the French Revolution, British tailoring’s use of steam and padding in moulding wool cloth, the necktie, and the gradual disuse of waistcoats and hats in the last fifty years.

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U.S. President J.F. Kennedy in a two-piece, single-breasted suit.

The modern suit originally was a nineteenth-century English innovation in men's dress, usually referring to a lounge suit that was only worn in the country and at seaside. At the time morning dress and the frock coat garments were not suits, because they were worn with odd striped trousers; a matching waistcoat and trousers were considered informal clothes described as such in the short-lived term “ditto suit”. .

In North America, the “sack suit” derives from the lounge suit, because, except for the shoulders, it is unfitted, loose, and informal, as it has no darts. In the nineteenth century, for informal occasions, men wore morning dress in place of the formal frock coat suit then the proper business and day time formal clothes. Thus, the lounge suit was informal dress reserved for recreation.

In 1901, the smart man wore a morning coat.

The lounge suit became popular in the later nineteenth century as informal clothes to wear in town, until becoming the accepted alternative to the morning coat in the early twentieth century. As the lounge suit became popular, all men would have at least one suit to wear to church; rich Victorian men still woar a frock coat to church.

Before 1940 (and again in the 1970s) men preferred snugly-tailored coats and waistcoats, however, since then, the mainstream trend has been for looseness. The waistcoat (vest) was worn until World War II when it disappeared because of cloth rationing, returning in the post-war time.

In the 1970s, a tight-fitting version of this suit style became associated with disco music and its culture, specifically popularised by the film Saturday Night Fever, wherein 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 tight-fitting three piece suits, which were criticized as effeminate by proletarian men of the middle and working classes. However, more conservative styles of three-piece suits were popular in the early 1980s, but by 1985-86, three-piece suits were on the way out and making way for italian cut double breasted suits and standard two piece single breasted.

Three men in black tie variants.

At the end of the nineteenth century, an informal evening version of the lounge suit emerged in England, known as a dinner jacket in British English, in a dress code referred to as black tie. When it was imported to the United States, it became known as as the tuxedo or the penguin. The dinner jacket was originally called a 'dress lounge' in England to indicate that it was a lounge suit for evening wear. The 'dress lounge' was originally worn only for small private gatherings and white tie ('White tie and tails') was 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. As black tie grew in popularity, it has became increasingly acceptable as formalwear and today has all but replaced white tie, which today is only seen at ultra-formal occasions. The daytime formal equivalent to white tie is morning dress, but in the United States this too has become uncommon and the daytime semi-formal dress called the stroller is more common. The stroller is itself a form of 'dress lounge' - a day time semi-formal lounge suit version of morning dress.

Women's suits

Women's walking suits, 1894, from the Butterick pattern company's Delineator

The earliest women's suits were riding habits, 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 nineteenth century. Both riding habits and walking suits reflected the skirt and sleeve styles of the day.

In the first half of the twentieth 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 semiformal 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. Pantsuits (women's suits with trousers) were introduced by designer André Courrèges 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 restricted almost entirely to formal and business activities. During the 1990s, many businesses in North America adopted casual dress codes, beginning with "casual Fridays" 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.

According to Anne Hollander's book Sex and Suits (ISBN 1-56836-101-7), the origin of the suit was in European medieval armor, which "replaced the naked human frame with another one that made a close three-dimensional, line-for-line commentary on it in another medium." Furthermore, "plate armor required an undergarment made by a linen-armorer, a close-fitting padded suit that outlined the whole man".

Styles

The majority of men's suits can be classified into one of five styles. Double-breasted suits have two parallel rows of buttons; this style is considered very conservative. All other styles are single-breasted and may have various numbers of buttons, most commonly two or three. British suits are characterized by moderately tapered sides, minimal shoulder padding, and two vents. Italian suits are characterized by strongly padded shoulders, strongly tapered sides, and no vent. American suits are considered more casual than the preceding styles, and are characterized by moderate shoulder padding, minimally tapered sides, and a single vent. Contemporary is a term that includes a variety of recently designed garments that do not fit into the preceding categories.

Suit jackets in all styles typically have three or four buttons on each cuff, which are often purely decorative (the sleeve is sewn closed and cannot be unbuttoned to open). Functional cuff buttons may be found on high-end or bespoke suits; this feature is called a doctor's cuff.

Extreme suits

Although the man's tailored suit is commonly perceived as the ultimate conservative costume of Western culture (see below), 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:

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. And the worst of it is, few of our younger men know any better until they go abroad and find their wardrobe a subject for jest and derision.

Some of the non-traditional tailored suit styles of the past century include:

• The Zoot suit of the 1930s and 1940s.
• The Western suit, a form of western wear featuring a tailored jacket with "western" details such as pointed yokes or arrowhead pockets.
• The Nudie suit, a highly decorated form of western wear
• The Double Breasted Suit Made popular from the mid 1930s- circa late 50s and again from the mid 1980s until the mid 1990s.
• The Beatle suit, inspired by Pierre Cardin's collarless jackets, derived from Edwardian suits. The Master often wore this style of suit.
• The Mod suit, a fashion of the 1960s. Characteristics include a very slim cut, narrow lapels, three or four buttons and a stronly tapered waist. Usually single-breasted. The cloth generally consists in part of mohair.
• The Disco suit, a fashion of the 1970s with exaggerated lapels and flared trousers, often in white or brightly-coloured polyester fabric, the Jacket was based on the Jackets popular in the 1930s.

Perceptions

The uniform impression of a suit, often appearing in standard configurations such as pinstripe suit or suit and tie, can carry numerous connotations. In business settings it can communicate respectability and taste. In different milieus, the connotations of corporate life that the suit represents conveys unadventurous conformism. Extreme variations on the suit can convey the opposite (for example, many pimps, or men wanting to be perceived as such, wear exaggerated versions of suits containing various hues, patterns, etc.).

Two-piece suits may also be used as military uniform

Used as a synecdoche, by referring to management staff in corporations as "suits", may express contempt for the perceived absence of autonomy imposed on members in a uniform elitist bureaucracy. It may also be a comment on the perceived amorality of those who work for corporations.

In modern society, men's suits have gone out of favor as an outfit of daily wear, and are now worn rarely on a daily basis by most men, except for some sectors in the trades of business and finance. For other men, particularly in Western society, a suit is a special, reserved ensemble of clothing worn for special occasions, such as weddings, funerals, and other more formal social events. Hence, because they are not a daily outfit for most men, they are often viewed as being "stuffy" and uncomfortable, mostly because they limit freedom of movement, and the combination of a tie, belt and vest can be quite tight and restrictive in comparison to contemporary casual wear. Therefore, in nearly all classes of society, suits are no longer a required part of daily work or leisure attire, except in higher-level business circles. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, men's suits became less commonly worn in much the same way as skirts and dresses were dropped by many women in favor of pants, which was seen as a liberation from the conformity of earlier periods and fell concurrently with the women's liberation movement. For professions which still call for a dressier approach to clothing (sometimes referred to in the US as white collar jobs), an acceptable alternative to a suit may be a button-down shirt with a tie, worn with belted or braced trousers and leather dress shoes.

The political and social dominance of the West in the world during the last century has led to the adoption of the suit as appropriate business and formal wear in almost every part of the globe. Refusing to wear a suit, therefore, can be a symbolic rejection of Western culture in some cases. For instance, some political leaders reject wearing business suits in order to send a message that they do not conform to Western patterns. The most notable example was probably the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who usually appeared in public wearing what was nicknamed the Mao suit in English. This suit was originally designed under the direction of Sun Yat-sen for the Chinese Republic, reflecting the need to create a uniquely Chinese dress for the new era. The "Mao suit" was worn by most Chinese political leaders (including Chiang Kai-shek), until the mid-to-late 20th Century, and is known as the "Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) suit" (after its creator) in Chinese. Other alternatives to the western suit include national or tribal dress for African and Middle Eastern leaders, or military fatigues like Cuba's Fidel Castro. In more recent years, however, Castro has taken to wearing business suits in public appearances in lieu of his iconic revolutionary fatigues.

Women's suits today

In the 1990s, the return of the miniskirt to the fashion world soon carried over into the office settings. Skirt length varies with fashion trends and acceptable local custom.

Suit etiquette for men

Buttoning the suit

Double-breasted suits are almost always kept buttoned. When there is more than one to fasten (as in a traditional six-on-two arrangement), only the top one need be fastened; in some configurations, the wearer may elect to button only the bottom button, in order to present a longer line (a style popularized by the Prince George, Duke of Kent).

Today, Single-breasted suits are buttoned while standing. This is because the current trend is for jackets which are loose. Prior to 1935 and again during the 1970s, men preferred fitted jackets which could be worn either buttoned or unbuttoned whether one was standing or not. In a three-button suit, all but the bottom button can be done up. Today, however, if only one button is done up, it is the middle one, if two it is the middle and top ones. This is because in general jackets today are made to be low-waisted. Prior to 1935, men preferred high-waisted coats and therefore the fashion was to button only the topmost button (if any was to be buttoned at all). In two button suits it is appropriate to button the top button, but never the bottom button only. If one is wearing a waistcoat, there is no need to button the jacket.

If one is wearing a four button suit, he may choose to wear the suit with two buttons done up (the middle two) or all of the top three. It is the fashion with a four button suit to keep it buttoned when sitting.

When a bespoke jacket has working buttons on the cuff, some men like to leave some of these undone to demonstrate that they can afford to wear a bespoke suit, but it is more proper to fasten all the buttons. A bespoke suit should be understated.

Suit colours

In the past (especially in the 1920s and 1970s), suits were made in a wide array of colours. Today, business-suits are usually made in navy blue, grey, and charcoal. Browns and darker shades of green have returned to fashion (these colours had previously been popular in the 1970s and also prior to 1935) although these colours are still not widely accepted by more conservative men. In the US, black is traditionally a colour reserved for one's dinner jacket (tuxedo), but may be worn in religious contexts such as to a funeral or religious function. This restriction does not exist in other countries.

Pattern

Traditional suits are generally solid colours or pinstripes, with refined plaids such as the traditional Glen plaid sometimes qualifying. The colour of the patterned element (stripes, plaid checks) varies by gender. Navy blue and charcoal are considered smart staples of the suitwearer's wardrobe. A pinstriped suit is conventionally associated with conservative businessmen but many designers have made sharp pinstriped suits more fashionable and cutting edge.

Ties with suits

Main article: Necktie

Working with neckties is very much a matter of personal taste, but in conservative terms there are some basic guidelines. Ties should always be darker than the wearer's shirt. The background colour of the tie should not be the same as that of the shirt, while the foreground of the tie should contain the colour of the shirt and thereby "pick up" on the colour of the shirt. Ideally, the tie should also integrate the colour of the suit in the same way. Generally, simple or subdued patterns are preferred for conservative dress, though these are terms with a wide range of interpretation. Some of the most common knots are the Four-in-hand, the Half-Windsor, the Windsor (or Full-Windsor), and the Shelby or Pratt. A Four-in-hand, Half-Windsor, or Windsor is generally the most appropriate with a suit, particularly by contemporary guidelines. Once properly knotted and arranged, the bottom of the tie should just touch or just go over the top of the belt buckle. The thin end should never extend below the wide end.

Appropriate etiquette should be followed when wearing neckties that indicate membership in a corporate body: many ties made for the American market display heraldic devices or come in "regimental stripe" patterns that could be mistaken for an official organisational tie in European circles.

It has become fashionable to wear a suit without a tie and with an open necked shirt among young men.

Shirts with suits

Main article: Dress shirt

The type of shirt worn by men with a suit is a top made of woven cloth, with long sleeves, a full-length buttoned opening down the front, and a collar; this type of garment is known in American English as a dress shirt or Oxford shirt but simply as a shirt in other English dialects. It is ironed, neatly tucked into its wearer's trousers, and otherwise worn according to the etiquette described in the article dress shirt.

The classic shirt colours are light blue or white, with white edging out as most conservative. The most formal type of dress shirt worn with a standard suit is a shirt with linked cuffs, but not French, using cuff links or silk knots instead of buttons to close the sleeves, but this type of shirt is optional, and essentially up to the preferences of the wearer and the vagaries of fashion.

The most traditional collar is a spread collar. This is frequently the default collar type for French cuff shirts, though they can sometimes be found with point collars. Normally button-down collars are reserved for casual use with a sportcoat or without a coat at all. The button-down collar is not seeing as much wear today, particularly with the resurgence of more formal shirts with spread collars and French cuffs, even in business casual wear.

Socks with suits

In the United States it is common for socks to match the trouser leg. This makes the leg appear longer and minimizes the attention drawn by a trouser leg tailored to be too short. A more general rule is for socks to be darker than the shade of trousers, but potentially a different colour. With patterned socks, ideally the background colour of the sock should match the primary/background colour of the suit. If it is not possible to match the trouser leg, socks may match one's shoes.

Comedians like Jerry Lewis (in the past) and then-Supreme Court Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall have been known to wear white socks with their suits. Though it may have been fashionable to wear them in the 1950s, black or other dark dress socks are much preferred to white socks for most occasions.

Accessories with suits

A pinstriped navy blue suit, with a grey one in the background, necktie and pocket square.

Acceptable colors for belts (if worn) and shoes are black and burgundy/cordovan, though since the 1980s various shades of darker browns (particularly mahogany) have started to gain acceptance. Light browns such as saddle tan should be reserved for use with business casual wear. The belt and shoes must match one another, at the very least in colour category if not almost exactly in shade. The belt's buckle should be silver or gold. Other metallic objects worn with the suit (such as cuff links, tie bar, tie tack, watch) should match the belt buckle. However, in more conservative circles, especially in the UK, a belt should never be worn with a suit. A suit made by an English tailor will not have belt loops and the trousers should be kept in place by either adjustable side fasteners or braces (US: suspenders). Where watches are concerned: the more formal the occasion, the thinner the watch. Analogue watches are more formal than digital watches. In the most formal situations, a pocket watch, or no watch at all, should be worn. The pocket watch should also match the other metal objects in size and colour. Leather-soled shoes are traditional and traditionally have a more "dressy" appearance. Some companies also make dress shoes with wooden soles.

Handkerchiefs and pocket squares/silks in the upper welt (chest) pocket are not especially common in today's formal dress. Originally, handkerchiefs were worn partially protruding from the left jacket sleeve. Over time, they migrated to the breast pocket. When silk was still a rare and expensive commodity, they were considered a flamboyant extravagance by conservative commentators. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, they had become a standard accoutrement for gentlemen.

Suit etiquette for women

A lady wearing a standard womens suit

Suit-wearing etiquette for women generally follows the same guidelines used by men. Only the differences are described here.

For women, a blouse (usually white) takes the place of a shirt. Blue and pink blouses are also seen. Women have more leeway in selecting their top than men have in selecting their shirt. Sometimes a high-quality knit top replaces the blouse; this is not universally accepted but is common, particularly if the top is made of a luxurious material.

Women generally do not wear neckties with their suit. Fancy silk scarves that resemble a floppy ascot tie were popular in North America in the 1970s, worn with pant suits. At that time women entered the white-collar workforce in large numbers and their dress fashions imitated men's business wear. The scarves are not popular in contemporary usage; most women pair their suit with either a subdued necklace or no neckwear at all(as in picture).

External links

• Emily Post's Etiquette: The Clothes of a Gentleman, 1922
• GQ Style Guy on men.style.com - Suits and Blazers