Mens Suits

Mens suits have become ceremonial or traditional outfits around the world, and common in the world of business and politics. The wearing of suits is valued for its implications of formality, business culture and status.

Traces of mens suit designs can be found in the late nineteenth century frocks of England, but Charles the Second started the trend towards suits soon after the Great Fire of London in the 1600s. He in turn copied it from the French court's fashion codes prevalent at that time.

In Versailles, Louis the Sixteenth pioneered the wearing of the cravat with a long coat or jacket, a wig and breeches, topped with a crafted fabric hat. The modern-day suit emerged from this get-up, with the replacement of the cravat with the necktie, the loss of wigs, breeches and then hats, and the use of trousers instead of breeches.



London became a fashion hub during the Industrial Revolution, foreheading the evolution of mens wear. British-led streamlining has led to more attention being paid to details on the cut, the fabric and the tones in use, and the upper-class code solidified the guidelines for wearing tailored suits.

The cut of the coat has consistently simplified over time, by now showing no obvious waistlines. Americans in turn innovated on British wear and made the suit acceptable for formal wear (as it was for the middle class) and everyday business wear (for upper class men). Now regarded as too fancy, tailcoats in time lost their appeal as dinner party formal wear and disappeared into period pieces and films.

Iconified as part of Wall Street gear, suits generally stabilized in look and spread of use from the time of the Great Depression until the early Sixties, except for further developments in hat (and then hatless) trends and fresher designs in neckties.

Near the end of the last century, suits as formal business wear took a downturn with the spread of Casual Fridays into the rest of the workweek, a trend particularly strong in North America. Still, coats and suits come in handy for weddings, job interviews, funerals, court appearances and formal events.

Designer suits are the modern manifestation of earlier bespoke pieces that were the norm before mass production and off the rack clothing. A staple on the men's ramp during fashion week, leading designers introduce variations on the basic coat and pants template every year.