A suit jacket, also called a lounge jacket, dress jacket, lounge coat or suit coat, is a jacket in classic menswear that is part of a suit.
A suit jacket, also called a lounge jacket, dress jacket, lounge coat or suit coat, is a jacket in classic menswear that is part of a suit.
The jacket was originally a work jacket that came into fashion due to the French Revolution. [1] [2] It was popular among sailors, and in the 19th century it became a common item of clothing for sports and recreation. [3]
The 1870s saw the birth of the suit, which at first was met with great skepticism and viewed primarily as leisure wear. [4] In particular, which came into fashion in the late 1870s, a suit in a large plaid with rolled to the knee pants. [5]
Since 1860, all the components of the suit began to be sewn from a uniform fabric. [6] [7] [8] Today, jackets come in different lengths, but the classic is one in which the jacket covers the buttocks, the sleeves reach the wrist, and the cuff of the shirt extends out a couple of centimeters from under the sleeve of the jacket. [9]
Most single-breasted suit jackets have two or three buttons, and one or four buttons are unusual (except that tuxedo dinner jackets often have only one button). It is rare to find a suit jacket with more than four buttons, although zoot suits can have as many as six or more due to their longer length. There is also variation in the placement and style of buttons, [10] since the button placement is critical to the overall impression of height conveyed by the jacket. The centre or top button will typically line up quite closely with the natural waistline. [11] Double-breasted jackets have only half their outer buttons functional, as the second row is for display only, forcing them to come in pairs. Some rare jackets can have as few as two buttons, and during various periods, for instance the 1960s and 70s, as many as eight were seen. Six buttons are typical, with two to button; the last pair floats above the overlap. The three buttons down each side may in this case be in a straight line (the 'keystone' layout) or more commonly, the top pair is half as far apart again as each pair in the bottom square. A four-button double-breasted jacket usually buttons in a square. [12] The layout of the buttons and the shape of the lapel are co-ordinated in order to direct the eyes of an observer. For example, if the buttons are too low, or the lapel roll too pronounced, the eyes are drawn down from the face, and the waist appears larger. [13]
The jacket's lapels can be notched (also called stepped), peaked (pointed), or shawl. Each lapel style carries different connotations, and is worn with different cuts of suit. Notched lapels are the most common of the three and are usually only found on single-breasted jackets. They are distinguished by a 75 to 90 degree 'notch' at the point where the lapel meets the collar. [14] Peaked lapels have sharp edges which point upward towards the shoulders. Double-breasted jackets usually have peaked lapels, although peaked lapels may be found on single breasted jackets as well. The ability to properly cut peak lapels on a single-breasted suit is one of the most challenging tailoring tasks, even for very experienced tailors. [15] Shawl lapels are a style derived from the Victorian informal evening wear, and as such are not normally seen on suit jackets except for tuxedos or dinner suits. [16]
The width of the lapel is a varying aspect of suits, and has changed over the years. The 1930s and 1970s featured exceptionally wide lapels, whereas during the late 1950s and most of the 1960s suits with very narrow lapels—often only about an inch wide—were in fashion. The 1980s saw mid-size lapels with a low gorge (the point on the jacket that forms the notch or peak between the collar and front lapel).
Lapels also have a buttonhole, intended to hold a boutonnière, a decorative flower. These are now only commonly seen at more formal events. Usually double-breasted suits have one hole on each lapel (with a flower just on the left), while single-breasted suits have just one on the left. [17]
Most jackets have a variety of inner pockets, and two main outer pockets, which are generally either patch pockets, flap pockets, or jetted (besom) pockets. [18] The patch pocket is, with its single extra piece of cloth sewn directly onto the front of the jacket, a sporting option, sometimes seen on summer linen suits, or other informal styles. The flap pocket is standard for side pockets, and has an extra lined flap of matching fabric covering the top of the pocket. A jetted pocket is most formal, with a small strip of fabric taping the top and bottom of the slit for the pocket. This style is most often on seen on formalwear, such as a dinner jacket.
A breast pocket is usually found at the left side, where a pocket square or handkerchief can be displayed.
In addition to the standard two outer pockets and breast pocket, some suits have a fourth, the ticket pocket, usually located just above the right pocket and roughly half as wide. While this was originally exclusively a feature of country suits, used for conveniently storing a train ticket, it is now seen on some town suits. Another country feature also worn sometimes in cities is a pair of hacking pockets, which are similar to normal ones, but slanted; this was originally designed to make the pockets easier to open on horseback while hacking. [19]
Suit jackets in all styles typically have three or four buttons on each cuff, which are often purely decorative (the sleeve is usually sewn closed and cannot be unbuttoned to open). Although the sleeve buttons usually cannot be undone, the stitching is such that it appears they could. Functional cuff buttons may be found on high-end or bespoke suits; this feature is called a surgeon's cuff or working button holes (U.S.). [20] Some wearers leave these buttons undone to reveal that they can afford a bespoke suit. [21] A "cuffed sleeve" has an extra length of fabric folded back over the arm, or some piping or stitching above the buttons to allude to the edge of a cuff. This was popular in the Edwardian era, as a feature of formalwear such as frock coats carried over to informal wear, but is now rare.
A vent is a slit in the bottom rear (the tail) of the jacket. Originally, vents were a sporting option, designed to make riding easier, so are traditional on hacking jackets, formal coats such as a morning coat, and, for practicality, overcoats. Today there are three styles of venting: the single-vented style (with one vent at the centre); the ventless style; and the double-vented style (one vent on each side). Vents are convenient, particularly when using a pocket or sitting down, to improve the hang of the jacket, [22] so are now used on most jackets. Ventless jackets are associated with Italian tailoring, while the double-vented style is typically British. [19] Dinner jackets traditionally have no vents.
Jackets are usually made of woolen fabric, but other fabrics such as cotton, linen, and velvet are also available. [23] Tweed is widely used in the United Kingdom. [24]
Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element for men, the dinner suit or dinner jacket. In American English, the equivalent term tuxedo is common. The dinner suit is a black, midnight blue or white two- or three-piece suit, distinguished by satin or grosgrain jacket lapels and similar stripes along the outseam of the trousers. It is worn with a white dress shirt with standing or turndown collar and link cuffs, a black bow tie, typically an evening waistcoat or a cummerbund, and black patent leather dress shoes or court pumps. Accessories may include a semi-formal homburg, bowler, or boater hat. For women, an evening gown or other fashionable evening attire may be worn.
A waistcoat or vest is a sleeveless upper-body garment. It is usually worn over a dress shirt and necktie and below a coat as a part of most men's formal wear. It is also sported as the third piece in the traditional three-piece male suit. Any given waistcoat can be simple or ornate, or for leisure or luxury. Historically, the waistcoat can be worn either in the place of, or underneath, a larger coat, dependent upon the weather, wearer, and setting.
A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit, or formal suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of trousers. It is currently considered semi-formal wear or business wear in contemporary Western dress codes, however when the suit was originally developed it was considered an informal or more casual option compared to the prevailing clothing standards of aristocrats and businessmen. The lounge suit originated in 19th-century Britain as sportswear and British country clothing, which is why it was seen as more casual than citywear at that time, with the roots of the suit coming from early modern Western Europe formal court or military clothes. After replacing the black frock coat in the early 20th century as regular daywear, a sober one-coloured suit became known as a lounge suit.
A tailcoat is a knee-length coat characterised by a rear section of the skirt, with the front of the skirt cut away.
A frock coat is a formal men's coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods (1830s–1910s). It is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at the back and some features unusual in post-Victorian dress. These include the reverse collar and lapels, where the outer edge of the lapel is often cut from a separate piece of cloth from the main body and also a high degree of waist suppression around the waistcoat, where the coat's diameter round the waist is less than round the chest. This is achieved by a high horizontal waist seam with side bodies, which are extra panels of fabric above the waist used to pull in the naturally cylindrical drape. As was usual with all coats in the 19th century, shoulder padding was rare or minimal.
Morning dress, also known as formal day dress, is the formal Western dress code for day attire, consisting chiefly of a morning coat, waistcoat, and formal trousers for men, and an appropriate gown for women. Men may also wear a popular variant, where all parts are the same colour and material, often grey, and usually called "morning suit" or "morning grey" to distinguish it; considered properly appropriate only to festive functions, such as summer weddings and horse races, which consequently makes it slightly less formal. The correct hat would be a formal top hat, or if on less spacious audience settings, optionally a collapsible equivalent opera hat.
A blazer is a type of lightweight sport jacket. Originally a scarlet jacket worn in club or plain colours when boating or cricketing, the garment gradually lost its connection with sportswear from the 1930s onward to enter classic style, and the look came to be associated with the lifestyle of wealthy elites.
A dress shirt, button shirt, button-front, button-front shirt, or button-up shirt is a garment with a collar and a full-length opening at the front, which is fastened using buttons or shirt studs. A button-down or button-down shirt is a dress shirt with a button-down collar – a collar having the ends fastened to the shirt with buttons.
A cuff is a layer of fabric at the lower edge of the sleeve of a garment at the wrist, or at the ankle end of a trouser leg. The function of turned-back cuffs is to protect the cloth of the garment from fraying, and, when frayed, to allow the cuffs to be readily repaired or replaced, without changing the garment. Cuffs are made by turning back (folding) the material, or a separate band of material can be sewn on, or worn separately, attached either by buttons or studs. A cuff may display an ornamental border or have lace or some other trimming. In US usage, the word trouser cuffs refers to the folded, finished bottoms of the legs of a pair of trousers. In the UK, while this usage is now sometimes followed, the traditional term for the turned up trouser hem is 'turnup'.
1850s fashion in Western and Western-influenced clothing is characterized by an increase in the width of women's skirts supported by crinolines or hoops, the mass production of sewing machines, and the beginnings of dress reform. Masculine styles began to originate more in London, while female fashions originated almost exclusively in Paris.
A single-breasted garment is a coat, jacket, vest, or similar item having one column of buttons and a narrow overlap of fabric. In contrast, a double-breasted coat has a wider overlap and two parallel rows of buttons. Single-breasted suit jackets and blazers typically have two or three buttons, and a notch lapel. However, from the 1930s onwards, peaked lapels on a single button jacket have been variably in fashion. The width of the lapels is one of the most changeable aspects of the jacket, and narrow peak lapels on single-breasted jackets became popular during the 2000s.
A double-breasted garment is a coat, jacket, waistcoat, or dress with wide, overlapping front flaps which has on its front two symmetrical columns of buttons; by contrast, a single-breasted item has a narrow overlap and only one column of buttons.
A lapel is a folded flap of cloth on the front of a jacket or coat below the collar. It is most commonly found on formal clothing and suit jackets. Usually it is formed by folding over the front edge of the jacket or coat and sewing it to the collar, an extra piece of fabric around the back of the neck.
The Eisenhower jacket or "Ike" jacket, officially known as the Jacket, Field, Wool, Olive Drab, is a type of waist-length jacket developed for the U.S. Army during the later stages of World War II and named after Dwight D. Eisenhower. Intended to be worn on its own or as an insulating layer beneath the M-1943 Field Jacket and over the standard wool flannel shirt and wool sweater, it featured a pleated back, adjustable waist band, fly-front buttons, bellows chest pockets, slash side pockets, and shoulder straps.
Perfecto is a secondary brand of "lancer fronted" leather motorcycle jackets designed by Irving Schott and manufactured by the American clothing company, Schott NYC. The first jacket was introduced in 1928, making it the first such styled leather motorcycle jacket. There is some debate as to whether Marlon Brando wore a Schott Perfecto or a replica made by Durable in the 1953 seminal movie The Wild One. Punk rock pioneers The Ramones wore Perfecto jackets in the 1970s and fashion designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier created their variations in the 1980s.
Ivy League is a style of men's dress, also known as Ivy Style, popular during the late 1950s in the Northeastern United States, and said to have originated on college campuses, particularly those of the Ivy League. It was the predecessor to the preppy style of dress.
A man's suit of clothes, in the sense of a lounge, office, business, dinner or dress 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 featuring dark colors and a conservative cut.
The Luftwaffe was the air force of Nazi Germany prior to and during World War II. Luftwaffe styles of uniform and rank insignia had many unique features between 1935 and 1945. By Hitler's decision on February 26, 1935, the Luftwaffe was to be officially the third branch of the Wehrmacht as of March 1, 1935. The new Luftwaffe was faced with the problem of uniforms, as they wanted a uniform distinct from those of the other two branches of the Wehrmacht and also wanted a clear differentiation in dress of military and civilian flyers.
British Army mess dress is the formal military evening dress worn by British Army officers and senior non-commissioned officers in their respective messes or at other formal occasions.
Neapolitan tailoring was born as an attempt to loosen up the stiffness of English tailoring, which did not suit the Neapolitan lifestyle or climate.
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