A Short History of Suits

Our life at LGFG Fashion House circles around suits. Suits here, suits there… Suits everywhere! And we don’t mind because suits are sartorial nobility. They are a symbol of status and a suit embodies elegance, dynamism and all those elements that accurately define the idea of “success”. But do you know where suits originated?

Suits have been around for a very long time, but even though they have seen a lot of change throughout the past century, their meaning and philosophical core have remained unchanged. The history of the suit comes in leaps of decades. Each decade has left its mark on how we define the “absolute” suit. The modern man’s suit is the result of the evolution it has been through, influenced by social, economic and cultural happenings.

The big turning point in the history of men’s style came in the 1900’s. This decade represented the end of the Victorian era and a new beginning for men’s fashion. In the Victorian era, the late 1800’s, there were strict, uncomfortable rules of what could and couldn’t be worn – this lead to the search for more comfort that the loosening of rules gave rise: the modern lounge suit. In the 1900’s the Victorian frock coat was replaced by sack coats and lounge coats. During this time men wore three-piece suits that consisted of a sack with a matching waistcoat or vest. These were often worn with contrasting trousers.

Pictured: Victorian era men in their frock coats. Frock coat is a man’s double-breasted, long-skirted coat, now worn chiefly on formal occasions.

In the 1920’s men favoured short jackets with two or three buttons rather than jackets with long tailcoats. The less formal suit styles lasted until the First World war when military uniforms became the new style influencers – extremely high-waisted jackets, often worn with belts and with not very wide lapels as they tended to be buttoned up high.

Pictured: Unknown man in his sack coat. Sack coat is a loose-fitting coat hanging straight down from the shoulders, particularly as worn by men (sometimes as part of military uniform) in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Pictured: Lounge coat is most similar to the modern suit jacket.

More exaggerated styles came into fashion in the 30’s – people wanted to look like movie stars from the gangster movies – hello to new “style icon” Al Capone! The “drape cut” or “London Drape” suit was taking the world of men’s fashion by storm. The new suit was softer and more flexible in construction. It was adopted enthusiastically by Hollywood stars who became the new fashion trendsetters (before them the trendsetter was the tailor of the Prince of Wales). In the 40’s the Hollywood suit was exaggerated: heavily padded chests, enormous shoulders, and wide flowing trousers. But then, World War II happened and it brought minimalism to the picture. But the 50’s were again impressed by the Cinema. The war was over and people started dressing for the occasion – they dressed up just to celebrate life! Men’s suits were broad-shouldered and often double-breasted and they wore wider trousers again.

Pictured: Suit style that was influenced by famous gangsters.

The 60’s brought men the skinny fit suits, drainpipe trousers cut short at the ankles and collarless jackets (think of The Beatles). 60’s were also bringing polo-neck sweaters worn with a suit often replaced the shirt-and-tie combo. But 70’s are called the worst suit era ever. Its the era of flairs and colours. The famous era of the flower power! It’s the time when Italian designers started to shine. During the 70’s also the 3-piece suit made a comeback. In 80’s it was all back to simplicity. At first there was a lot of padding on the shoulders though. But Armani did the world a favour – he removed padding and jacket lining.The pinstripe suit returned. 90’s continued the Armani-started minimalism. Some people in the fashion field call it the most boring era. Suit-wise. And colour-wise as it was mostly just black and grey. Suits were baggy and they showed no personal style.

Pictured: The unforgettable 70’s

In the 2000’s – suits were out of fashion (except for formal occasions). But from 2010 we are back to basics! Popular styles are indie and retro (think of James Bond). Slim fit came back.  We are back to taking trends from the cinema- and now TV (Mad Men). And in 2016 a beautifully tailored and styled suit is still the peak of menswear.

Pictured: Daniel Graig as James Bond

But never forget – all new is just the forgotten old!