| Did it ever really go out of fashion? Probably not, | | | | We no longer have wigs and knee-length |
| at least, not among well-dressed people, but it did | | | | breeches, and the bright court colours favoured in |
| see its popularity drop for a while among those | | | | earlier times have been subdued to more sombre |
| who follow modern styles. Now suits are back in | | | | tones, but nevertheless, the modern suit can still |
| fashion. Isn't it time for you to wear a suit and | | | | trace its origins back to the 17th century. |
| look smart again? | | | | The next innovation in male dress sense came |
| Suits are not just for men, of course, although | | | | about through George Bryan Brummell. He met |
| we usually mean men's suits when we talk of the | | | | George IV, Prince of Wales, in 1795 and the two |
| dress type. Women, especially those in business, | | | | got on well together. Brummell was witty and had |
| often wear suits with either trousers or a skirt. | | | | an extraordinary sense of fashion. |
| Women always manage to give this style of | | | | Brummell's ideas, backed by the prince, were |
| dress a sense of panache that men don't always | | | | soon taken on by the leading tailors of London. |
| achieve. | | | | The harmony and cut of the cloth under |
| The modern suit, also known as a lounge suit or | | | | Brummell's guidance had an uncanny kind of |
| business suit, has its modern origins in the late | | | | perfection unknown before. "Beau" Brummell's |
| nineteenth century. However, there were | | | | attention to fine detail set the scene for a style |
| forerunners to it. King Charles II of England set a | | | | that came ever closer to the modern suit. |
| dress revolution back in the 1660s that slowly | | | | In the late 19th century in America the style of |
| evolved into what we see today. | | | | dress started to favour a lighter coat or jacket |
| Charles II may have started the style in Britain, | | | | cut to just below the waist. Coupled with trousers |
| but he was copying the example of Louis XIV of | | | | and a waistcoat, this was essentially quite |
| France who set a decree in 1666 that men at the | | | | recognisable as the modern suit. Styles came and |
| court of Versailles had to wear a jacket or long | | | | went, such as the double-breasted suit of the mid |
| coat, a waistcoat, a cravat, which was a kind of | | | | 20th century, but the basic concept stayed intact. |
| necktie, trousers, and on the head, a wig, topped | | | | Now suits are back in fashion. Men, and women, |
| with a hat if outdoors. | | | | everywhere are finding that the suit is not just |
| This set up may not seem similar to the modern | | | | for a job interview, a wedding, a funeral, or a |
| suit, but it was in its essential elements. There | | | | court appearance. It's for anything and everything |
| have been the inevitable adjustments over time, | | | | you want it to be for. The emphasis is back on |
| but this style of dress has stood almost | | | | elegance, and few things can be more elegant |
| unchanged in its basic outline for over 400 years. | | | | than a suit made to fit. |