When I discuss men's clothing styles with my wife, it's clear that men's styles follow a much tighter template than do women's (and hence women's greater preoccupation with form, shape, and color, as opposed to fabric and construction, the latter being factors men attend to), but also that men's "styles" (for lack of a better word) have a much longer half-life than do women's. Thus, we men might feel fine wearing a suit bought in 1992, whereas women would probably find a 1992 garment hopelessly "out of style." This got me to thinking (always potentially dangerous!) about just how long a suit style can be worn.
We're taught to regard "style" as enduring and "fashion" temporary. But how much of what we consider--in a suit or sports jacket--as a desirable: silhouette, lapel width, button stance, number of buttons, length, gorge height, shoulder form, waist suppression, etc., is actually enduring style and how much is fashion? And, to the extent to which it is the latter, how many years of stylish wear do we have in a suit or jacket bought today? Could we wear today-with confidence and comfort-a 2-button suit bought in the 1970s or 80s, with a very low button stance and the lapels, etc., of that time? Will the Neapolitan style of 2020 look like the Neapolitan style of today? In other words, is it truly enduring or only relatively enduring. Whereas women would regard a 1980s women's garment as completely "out of fashion" and basically unwearable, are men's suits and jackets (and we might also include trousers in this too) seen in the same way? Although it may be that men are more open to a "retro" look than women, I'm not interested in that per se, but rather the extent to which a suit would appear at best retro and at worst badly out of style.
What do you all think? I know that there are many levels on which this could be discussed, and it may be necessary to define our terms-like "style"-first, but have at it, guys!
We're taught to regard "style" as enduring and "fashion" temporary. But how much of what we consider--in a suit or sports jacket--as a desirable: silhouette, lapel width, button stance, number of buttons, length, gorge height, shoulder form, waist suppression, etc., is actually enduring style and how much is fashion? And, to the extent to which it is the latter, how many years of stylish wear do we have in a suit or jacket bought today? Could we wear today-with confidence and comfort-a 2-button suit bought in the 1970s or 80s, with a very low button stance and the lapels, etc., of that time? Will the Neapolitan style of 2020 look like the Neapolitan style of today? In other words, is it truly enduring or only relatively enduring. Whereas women would regard a 1980s women's garment as completely "out of fashion" and basically unwearable, are men's suits and jackets (and we might also include trousers in this too) seen in the same way? Although it may be that men are more open to a "retro" look than women, I'm not interested in that per se, but rather the extent to which a suit would appear at best retro and at worst badly out of style.
What do you all think? I know that there are many levels on which this could be discussed, and it may be necessary to define our terms-like "style"-first, but have at it, guys!
