Suit-making decline?

[matei]

Hello all,

Was there a marked time when men's suit-making went into decline? When did undesirable features, such as lower arm holes, begin to appear?

If searching for a vintage suit, what is the "newest" you would buy?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Was there a marked time when men's suit-making went into decline?

Yes. The early to mid-1960s. The number of stitches per inch became fewer; the fabrics contained more and more polyester, and began to pill; the linings became cheaper.

Shirts became shoddier, too. Come to think of it, so did socks, shoes, ties ...


If searching for a vintage suit, the "newest" I'd buy would be from the end of the 1950s. One exception is Brooks Brothers, which made good suits until at least the mid-'60s.

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[matei]

Thanks for the info Marc.

 

[nightandthecity]

I'd second Marc's statement for the UK too. Increased foreign competition coincided with the wider availability of nasty artificial fabrics and led to a general lowering of standards (and indeed the end of many long established companies: the mill town where I live virtually collapsed in the 60s)

This was one reason for the rejection of the suit and the popularity of jeans/T-shirt/leather jacket/workwear-as-casual-wear in the 60s - the latter was simply better. It was also a factor in the growth of the vintage market in the late 60s. Dissident youth started clothing themselves cheaply from army surplus stores, jumble sales and second hand shops. They soon realized this stuff was way superior to what was on offer in the high street and bingo, VINTAGE was born (before that there was only second-hand, something that poor people wore)

 

[Salv]

...and bingo, VINTAGE was born (before that there was only second-hand, something that poor people wore)

That was the one thing about vintage that my mum (born in Notting Hill in 1937) was always unhappy about. As far as she was concerned old clothes were hand-me-downs and she'd had enough of those growing up. She didn't like that her son was wearing someone else's clothes.

As far as the decline in suit-making in the 60s is concerned though, surely the emerging young UK Mod(ernist)s in the early 60s kept the tradition going for a while. They still visited their tailors for bespoke suits and were very picky about fabrics and details. Mod going mainstream in the mid-60s would have helped with the demise of the good suit. As more people got involved more businesses wanted to take advantage of them, cutting corners to meet demand.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Thanks for the info Marc.

Always a pleasure, Matei!

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[Marc Chevalier]

This was one reason for the rejection of the suit and the popularity of jeans/T-shirt/leather jacket/workwear-as-casual-wear in the 60s - the latter was simply better. It was also a factor in the growth of the vintage market in the late 60s. Dissident youth started clothing themselves cheaply from army surplus stores, jumble sales and second hand shops. They soon realized this stuff was way superior to what was on offer in the high street ...

True, true, true -- and very astute of you! Fascinating points!

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[Marc Chevalier]

As far as the decline in suit-making in the 60s is concerned though, surely the emerging young UK Mod(ernist)s in the early 60s kept the tradition going for a while. They still visited their tailors for bespoke suits and were very picky about fabrics and details.

Also very true. In the mid '60s, a handful of young suitmakers like Tommy Nutter kept up the quality ... but went off the deep end with cuts and fabrics.

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[Matt Deckard]

Still a tragedy to see all thgose tailors go out of business only to be replaced by the... well they weren't replaced really, I'm sure many felt the same way buggy whip makers felt when the automobile showed up... There are still buggy whips and horse drawn carriages, though when the suit wained in popularity standards have to drop to keep the customers buying, and the lower the price the more potential the buy.

If you look at photos, suits started making their big decline in the late 1940... and I think the 50's were the decade where the shoulders jutted out more then they cam e back in for the mods then the armholes got bigger (I really think it was thought of as a comfort thing... Lower armhole equals easier to put on, though harder to wear).