History of suits

The man's suit of clothes, in the sense of a lounge or business or office suit, is a set of garments which are crafted from the same cloth. This article discusses the history of the lounge suit, often called a business suit when made in dark colours and of conservative cut.

The current styles were founded in a period of sartorial revolution during the early 19th century. This sharply changed the elaborately embroidered and jeweled formal clothing into the simpler clothing of the Regency period (1811–20), which gradually evolved to the stark formality of the Victorian era (1837-1901). It was in the search for more comfort that the loosening of rules gave rise in the late 19th century to the modern lounge suit.

Men's suits

The suit is a traditional form of men's formal clothes in the Western world. 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 17th century (suit, wig, knee breeches), which was shed because of the French Revolution. This evolution is seen more recently in British tailoring's use of steam and padding in moulding woolen cloth, the rise and fall in popularity of the necktie, and the gradual disuse of waistcoats and hats in the last fifty years.