Sport Jackets vs. Suits

Ok from my research into the Wild West and Victorian Era, it seems the common to lower-class man had one suit (if lucky) and often his clothes were mix-matched... And therefore my questions are:

When did sport coats become popular?

Was this just an option derriving from the use of mix matched suit clothes or was this an attempt to save fabric, possibly due to the war??

Badluck Brody said:

Ok from my research into the Wild West and Victorian Era, it seems the common to lower-class man had one suit (if lucky) and often his clothes were mix-matched... And therefore my questions are:

When did sport coats become popular?

Was this just an option derriving from the use of mix matched suit clothes or was this an attempt to save fabric, possibly due to the war??

Click to expand...

Alan Flusser, Dressing the Man, p. 100:

At the beginning of the twenties, the term "sport jacket," or "odd jacket," was still not in popular usage. The bulk of the male population wore for leisure the jackets, and often the vests, of their business suits with white flannel trousers and white shoes. Whereas the well-dressed man might have secretly hankered for something sartorially more exciting than a suit jacket, most men had simply not progressed to the point where they expected comfort from their clothes. In fact, it was not until 1923 that the style-conscious Ivy League undergraduate finally accepted the idea of a designated separate jacket for spectator sports.


Prior to this, there were dedicated jackets for specific events--riding/hunting jackets, shooting jackets, golfing jackets, etc. It seems, though, that the idea of a more general sport jacket or odd jacket as a less formal alternative to the lounge suit didn't take hold until the '20s.

While frontiersmen and lower-class individuals in the 19th century may have mixed and matched as you describe, it was simply driven by necessity and almost certainly did not influence those who set styles and trends--the upper classes in Western Europe and the eastern United States. These continued to wear frock coats, morning coats, and lounge suits for normal daily wear well into the 20th century.

Well done, Orgetorix! A gentleman AND scholar...

The fact remains that for the vast majority, styles and trends were irrelevant. And still are. You wore what you had. And still do.

Most men in the 1860s were not wearing frock coats with silk faced lapels. most men in the 1930s were not wearing excellently cut 3 piece suits in high quality worsteds. They were wearing what they had, and making do. They still are.

The sports jacket as a concept is very much a non-everyman (i.e. exclusive) notion. To have clothes that have a single purpose (shooting, hunting, "sports") was (is?) not possible for a person who must live thriftily.

bk

You guys are great!

:cheers1:

Thanks again!

As a side note on this, I currently live in China and notice that lots and lots of men wear suit jackets (not sport coats but suit jackets) as an alternative to a coat. They just wear them with sweaters under them in the winter and just a vest under them in the summer.

I wouldn't say China is the most fashion conscious of places but a good example of wear what you have

Ken