Did lighter weight fabric kill the summer suit?
I ask this because one thing that living in warm climates that has really surprised me is the disappearance of the summer suit.
For example, I work in downtown Honolulu. This is the most business/formal place in the city, with the possible exception of some of the high-end shopping areas in Waikiki. Of course being Hawaii, and the 21st Century business casual dominates. In Hawaii this is the ubiquitous Aloha uniform: aloha shirt, khaki or blue trousers, black belt, black tasseled loafers, cell phone holster, no hat.
However, lawyers, some politicians and some higher-ups in business and banking do wear suits most days. One thing that stands out is that these are 99.9% dark colored suits like you would see anywhere in the US, mostly black and blue, wool, single breasted, notch lapel, etc. No linen, no light colors, etc. For example one of the only (perhaps the only) place to get a made-to-measure suit in the state, who is run by a very old fashion tailor, has exactly ZERO light colored suits off the rack in his store all of times that I visit. All of the suit fabrics and styles he advertises look much like suits in colder climates in the US.
When I worked in Washington, DC, while there was a smattering of summer suits, for the most part 90-95% of the men worn dark wool suits even when over 90 degrees in the DC summer hell. From my travels in places like NYC, Chicago, etc. it seems that this is a general trend. Though I could very well be wrong.
I have a few ideas on the cause, I am only a dabbler in fashion history so I might be wrong:
(1) Lightweight fabric dominate so people think moving to a summer suit in lighter colors is not necessary.
(2) The casualization of the Western world. Less and less people wear suits or know much about them, let alone know what a summer suit is. Same with the demise of formal wear and other lesser known aspects of dress: hats, pocket squares, etc. If you barely know anything about suits and barely wear one, why also get a white suit?
(3) The preference since the early 1990s for men to wear darker colors (ever notice how much black is worn these past few years, especially when I lived in Europe), I think many people association light colored suits with bad 1970s disco and 80s pastels of Miami Vice.
When I think of the off-white suit I think of:
I think many other people think of:
Any thoughts?
Now if you look at vintage photos of Honolulu in the 1920s-early 50s you see good amount of standard tropical/summer suiting: lots of off-white, linen, panama hats, etc. Though, even in the old pictures there are dark colors and in general felt hats outnumber panama or straw hats in most of the photos I’ve looked at. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the Hawaiian shirt and aloha wear come to dominate business dress as they do today.
Though there has been an ever so slight rise in young men wearing non-aloha wear in Honolulu in business settings. Essentially the story is that Aloha shirts are now seen as "what their dad always wore" and is seen as too old fashioned, so more young men are wearing button up long-sleave dress shirts and even sportcoats and suits to work. Though this is a rather small group... For more here's a story: http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2006/06/05/story1.html
1920s:
Bunch of dapper gents in blazers in front of 'Iolani Palace:
The crocodile himself, Averil Harriman and business tycoon Walter Dillingham inspecting the railroad:
1930s:
Territorial Gov. Judd 1930s:
Gov. Poindexter and Dillingham speaking about inter-island travel in 1934
A dapper gent and his 1935 Chevy:
Crowd waiting for results during Massie Trial in 1932:
Massie jury:
Prosecutor John Kelly
1940s and 50s to follow...
I ask this because one thing that living in warm climates that has really surprised me is the disappearance of the summer suit.
For example, I work in downtown Honolulu. This is the most business/formal place in the city, with the possible exception of some of the high-end shopping areas in Waikiki. Of course being Hawaii, and the 21st Century business casual dominates. In Hawaii this is the ubiquitous Aloha uniform: aloha shirt, khaki or blue trousers, black belt, black tasseled loafers, cell phone holster, no hat.
However, lawyers, some politicians and some higher-ups in business and banking do wear suits most days. One thing that stands out is that these are 99.9% dark colored suits like you would see anywhere in the US, mostly black and blue, wool, single breasted, notch lapel, etc. No linen, no light colors, etc. For example one of the only (perhaps the only) place to get a made-to-measure suit in the state, who is run by a very old fashion tailor, has exactly ZERO light colored suits off the rack in his store all of times that I visit. All of the suit fabrics and styles he advertises look much like suits in colder climates in the US.
When I worked in Washington, DC, while there was a smattering of summer suits, for the most part 90-95% of the men worn dark wool suits even when over 90 degrees in the DC summer hell. From my travels in places like NYC, Chicago, etc. it seems that this is a general trend. Though I could very well be wrong.
I have a few ideas on the cause, I am only a dabbler in fashion history so I might be wrong:
(1) Lightweight fabric dominate so people think moving to a summer suit in lighter colors is not necessary.
(2) The casualization of the Western world. Less and less people wear suits or know much about them, let alone know what a summer suit is. Same with the demise of formal wear and other lesser known aspects of dress: hats, pocket squares, etc. If you barely know anything about suits and barely wear one, why also get a white suit?
(3) The preference since the early 1990s for men to wear darker colors (ever notice how much black is worn these past few years, especially when I lived in Europe), I think many people association light colored suits with bad 1970s disco and 80s pastels of Miami Vice.
When I think of the off-white suit I think of:
I think many other people think of:
Any thoughts?
Now if you look at vintage photos of Honolulu in the 1920s-early 50s you see good amount of standard tropical/summer suiting: lots of off-white, linen, panama hats, etc. Though, even in the old pictures there are dark colors and in general felt hats outnumber panama or straw hats in most of the photos I’ve looked at. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the Hawaiian shirt and aloha wear come to dominate business dress as they do today.
Though there has been an ever so slight rise in young men wearing non-aloha wear in Honolulu in business settings. Essentially the story is that Aloha shirts are now seen as "what their dad always wore" and is seen as too old fashioned, so more young men are wearing button up long-sleave dress shirts and even sportcoats and suits to work. Though this is a rather small group... For more here's a story: http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2006/06/05/story1.html
1920s:
Bunch of dapper gents in blazers in front of 'Iolani Palace:
The crocodile himself, Averil Harriman and business tycoon Walter Dillingham inspecting the railroad:
1930s:
Territorial Gov. Judd 1930s:
Gov. Poindexter and Dillingham speaking about inter-island travel in 1934
A dapper gent and his 1935 Chevy:
Crowd waiting for results during Massie Trial in 1932:
Massie jury:
Prosecutor John Kelly
1940s and 50s to follow...
