In today's talk, we discuss "The Suit - Form, Function and Style by Christopher Breward" and unpick the story of the suit, the most familiar menswear garment, from its emergence in Western Europe at the end of the seventeenth century to current days. Suit-wearing individuals, such as the Savile Row gentleman and the Wall Street businessman, have long embodied ideas of tradition, masculinity, power, and respectability. Still, the suit has also been used to disrupt concepts of gender and conformity. Adopted and subverted by women, artists, musicians, and social revolutionaries through the decades- from dandies and Sapeurs to the Zoot Suit and Le Smoking - the suit is also a device for challenging the status quo. We'll examine the suit's construction, connection to masculinity, and role in various social and political contexts. We'll also talk about different cultural perspectives on the suit, including those of England, Italy, Japan, and the Congo, and its representation in art, literature, and film, highlighting its enduring power as a symbol of modernity.

A Men's Styling Podcast Made with LOVE by The VOU's Expert Image Consultants.