subject: History Of A Suit [print this page] History Of A Suit History Of A Suit
The term "tailor" first appeared within the Oxford English Dictionary at the end of the 13th century. At this moment in time, tailoring wouldn't have taken the design it is doing these days although the principles of changing and adapting cloths to fit were similar. During the Middle Ages, clothing was merely a means of concealing the body. The shift came during the Rennaisance when clothing was modified to accentuate the shape of the body and tailoring came to be.
Before tailoring, the cloth was the distinguishing feature of any garment. This changed and the fit and cut of clothing soon out shadowed the cloth it was manufactured from. Cutters (of patterns) and tailors became prominent features of any community.
In the modern world of fashion, tailoring retains a place. Despite the "throwaway" culture we now live in, where clothing can be bought for relatively small amounts of money and rarely worn before being discarded, the traditional tailor still exists. For a few gentleman, a readymade off the shelf suit would not compare to a bespoke suit made by a tailor. These bespoke suits do have disadvantages though with the main one being the price. For most of the population, a bespoke suit is actually not affordable. This has led to high street shops introducing tailoring ranges that offer off the shelf suits for a fraction of the price of made to measure ones.
For any fashion and image conscious male, the cut of a suit is just as important as the dent it will make in the wallet. You will find four main varieties of suit. The Italian suit which is certainly double breasted with large lapels and slit pockets. The British design of suit has 3 buttons, medium sized lapels and three outside pockets with padded shoulders. The American suit is a bit more informal and laid back with just 2 buttons and fewer padding on the shoulders. Finally you have the Mandarin suit which happens to be less prominent in Western society.
Savile Row has a huge amount of suits on display, their fantastic online tailoring service allows you to get a suit that fits like a tailored, without leaving your chair.
