A beautifully tailored history of this fashion stapleat once a garment of tradition, power, and subversion.The Suit unpicks the story of this most familiar garment, from its emergence in western Europe at the end of the seventeenth century to today. Suit-wearing figures such as the Savile Row gentleman and the Wall Street businessman have long embodied ideas of tradition, masculinity, power, and respectability, but the suit has also been used to disrupt concepts of gender and conformity. Adopted and subverted by women, artists, musicians, and social revolutionaries through the decadesfrom dandies and Sapeurs to the Zoot Suit and Le Smokingthe suit is also a device for challenging the status quo. For all those interested in the history of menswear, this beautifully illustrated book offers new perspectives on this most mundane, and poetic, product of modern culture.
Christopher Breward is the director of National Museums Scotland. He is the author of The Hidden Consumer, Fashion, and Fashioning London.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Tailor’s Art 1. Well Suited 2. Suiting Nations 3. Sharp Suits 4. Seeing the Suit 5. Epilogue: Future Suits References Select Bibliography Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements Index
What People are Saying About This
Ed Burstell
“Spirited and well researched, The Suit: Form, Function and Style is a thoroughly informed examination of the ubiquitous garment that is a staple in every man’s life. Combining both substance and style, it provides a journey into the evolution of the suit and its cultural influence through the ages.”
G. Bruce Boyer
“In its long history the suit has been both a symbol of adherence to mainstream authority as well as a weapon of rebellion. In this book, Breward masterfully traces the suit’s influence in modern and contemporary cultures with thorough scholarship and vivid writing. The Suit is a magical tour of the corporeal terrain of the garment that continues to intrigue us as it reflects the ever-changing economic and cultural contexts in which it is found. A triumph of scholarship and a joy to read.”