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Sunday, March 22, 2009

Are Men's Suits Just A Memory?

By Victor B. Sancharo

Crusaders of the past could never perform until they followed the prescribed code of dressing. Their mission of killing the evil doers and fighting the wrong could not have been accomplished in the absence of the norm of dressing. Sadly, knight and his shining armor are relegated to history (not if you are watching a replay of Renaissance Fair close by) and the better part of armors are adorning the museums lately.

Recently in history, the suit was a daily requirement, finding an appropriate role in the work place, church, and even entertainment events. Today, society seems to enjoy a more casual attitude, and the suit is slowly disappearing. Some men only own a single suit, since they find only seldom occasions that call for such formal attire.

The 1950s saw professionals scrupulously don suits to their work place everyday. Now, you see the same men flaunting khakis and sports shirts with collars with lan. Surely, the lawyers attending court and executives participating in a Congressional meeting follow the convention and don the current century protective gear - the men's suit.

Why have men stopped wearing suits to the office? Is there something about the suit itself, or has something changed radically in our culture? Both! Men's suits can be very restrictive and unless a man can afford a tailor most suits never fit precisely right. Also, the best fabric for men's suits, wool, requires expensive care and is often hot and itchy. In addition, suits must be worn with shirts and ties that are also very uncomfortable after an extended period of time. So, the lack of comfort in a suit may have contributed to it demise. The knight certainly wasn't comfortable in his heavy armor and I am certain that once the era passed, they were so relieved to just wear their jerkins, the more casual and practical alternative to a metal encasement.

Our society has surpassed casual and has proceeded to sloppy. I have seen degreed engineers, managers no less, working in shorts and messaged tee-shirts. In the past people thought you are what you wear, but now people realize that brilliant people are always brilliant and no $1500 suit will make a dummy any smarter or more capable. Suits are expensive compared to casual attire and usually casual clothes are simple to maintain. And if stained or snagged, these outfits can be tossed or used to wear to mow the grass. Try mowing the grass in a stained wool suit. Repairing a moth-eaten or cigarette burned suit can be costly and it is more and more difficult to find specialist in re-weaving suit fabric.

The consolation is some suits can never get outdated. Wouldn't you still want to see your groom in neat tuxedo? Young lads of the present day do try to impress their dates with suits procured with difficulty. Purists still believe in them, and you will not see men in solemn occasions wearing casuals, and that applies for fresh career seekers too, and their outfits clearly indicate their intentions. 7.

What can be done to preserve the men's suit? Perhaps promoting them as part of a sexy lifestyle (similar to toothpaste advertisements)would encourage men to wear suits more often. Perhaps offering to pay large corporations a fee to require all male employees to wear suits to work a certain number of days would increase suit sales. Of course, it would reduce employee morale. What about renting not only tuxedos, but also business suits so that employees who rarely need to wear one could have a very contemporary style available or those who wear suits regularly would have a large variety of suits to choose from without making a major wardrobe investment?

Whether men's suits fade out of style or not, we will all fondly remember the days when men dressed for the office to provide and protect just like we fondly remember the knight's of old in their armor.

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