History of Suits - Contemporary Trends

Contemporary Trends

Although the man's tailored suit is commonly perceived as the ultimate conservative costume of Western culture, 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. 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 suit of the late 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 Beatle suit, inspired by Pierre Cardin's collarless jackets, derived from Edwardian suits.
• 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 suit, 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 suit, which had a long-sleeved shirt-like jacket.
• The Disco suit, a fashion of the 1970s with exaggerated lapels and flared trousers and usually necktie omitting, often in white or brightly coloured polyester fabric, the jacket was based on the jackets popular in the 1930s.
• The Mandarin suit or Nehru 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.