The Disappearance of Men's Suits_1560

The Disappearance of Men's Suits



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. It seems that men's suits may be the armor of this century. Having served a purpose for a few centuries, it seems that with the more casual atmosphere in the work place, church and other formerly formal events, men's suits are required and worn less and less often. In fact, it may now be that many men have only one suit: the one they are "married and buried" in. While in the mid- 1950s many professional men wore suits to their offices daily, today you often see these same professional men in khakis and a collared sports shirt. Of course, attorneys appearing in court and executives appearing before a Congressional hearing still wear the 21st century armor - the men's suit.What could be the reason behind men preferring the informal outfits to their work place? Could it be attributed to the suit in general or is it a deviation from the cultural routine? Well, it works both ways. Working in a suit could be constricting if it is not beautifully tailored that facilitates easy movements and fits well too. Besides, the most preferred material for men's suits, the wool demand costly attention and could be stuffy and irritating on the skin. Suits have to be compulsorily accompanied by shirts and ties that add to the discomfort for longer durations. These reasons alone could be the factors leading to its slow death. Our mighty knight did not enjoy his outfit and was grateful to slide into his jerkin, that spells comfort and easy mobility as compared to the metallic enclosure. 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. Some types of suits will never go out of style. For example, what bride doesn't want her groom waiting for her dressed in a stylish tuxedo? And thanks to prom and homecoming, thousands of young high school students rent sometimes outlandish formal men's suits to impress their dates. I doubt if you will ever see a concierge in a tank top and the mortician will always be wearing a solemn black men's suit. Of course, young college graduates looking for employment will wear their best (and probably only) suit to those ever important interviews. Someone at a large corporation told me that you can always tell the job seekers because they are the only ones in the building wearing suits! How do we safeguard the men's suits? Encouraging them in our day to day living just like any other indispensable item would do the trick. Companies should come up with allowances to encourage their workers to wear them. They should even think of hiring them as it necessitates instead of splurging large amounts of money on them. 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.