Evolution of Men's Suits

EVOLUTION OF MEN'S SUITS 1600 TO 1800 1800s Brightly coloured, elaborately crafted royal THE REGENCY PERIOD court dress of the 17th Simplicity of the new clothes and their sombre colours contrasted strongly with the extravagant, foppish styles just before century (suit, wig, knee breeches) THE VICTORIAN PERIOD The frock coat became popular and the standard daily clothing for gentlemen. 1900s THE EDWARDIAN ERA From the middle of the A steady decline in the wearing of frock coats as the morning 19th century the morning coat became acceptable. coat became standard formal Towards the end of the dress. The lounge suit was slowly accepted outside its original settings of for sports, in the country, or at the seaside. 19th century, the modern lounge suit was born as a very informal garmet 1910s THE INDUSTRIAL AGE The lounge suit with its shorter jacket began replacing the frock coat for everyday and business dress. 1930s THE CINEMA AGE A more exaggerated silhouette influenced by the cinema and suits worn by leading men like Clark Gable. Loose-fitting coats were introduced mid-1930s with trousers tapered towards the ankle. 1940s Grey flannel became fashionable - the fit of jackets was cut as straight as possible and 'flaunting' of superfluous fabric was reined in during the War era. 1950s THE CHARISMATIC AGE A wider pleated-front trouser returned - giving mobility to dance. Teddy boys influenced by Edwardian dress favoured velvet-collared draped suits and longer jackets. 1960s THE POP CULTURE AGE 1970s Up-and-coming stars such as The Beatles adopted skinny-fit suits, drainpipe trousers cut short at the ankles and THE HEDONISTIC YEARS Disco gave the suit a new role as a weapon of seduction. There were designer-clad, social climbers with a collarless jackets. flamboyant and liberated sense of dress. Italian fashion had int'l 1980s influence with exaggerated lapels, single-button fastenings and flared trousers. DECONSTRUCTION Giorgio Armani used American Gigolo to unleash a new silhouette for mainstream men's tailoring. He removed padding and jacket lining, using slouchy fabrics like linen for pyjama-soft trousers 1990s MINIMALISM Inspired by minimalism, the 1990s was a matte-black generation, with slim fit suits, skinny trousers, white shirts and slim black ties influenced by Reservoir Dogs. 2000s THE METROSEXUALS Hedonism and flaunting of disposable income was in. Celebrities weren't afraid to expose their flamboyant, feminine side. Luxury fabrics such as printed velvets and 'bling' embroidery played backdrop to this reincarnation of dandyism. 2010s THE RETROSEXUALS The current decade indicates a return to suave masculine values, the type that orders Scotch on the rocks and uses Brylcream. THE FUTURE? CREDITS: The information for this infographic was obtained from the Wikipedia entry on "A History of Suits" and ShortList.com's article - "A history of men's suits". http://artofstyle.hucklebury.com