Suit Jackets

Anyone who grew up in London in the 1970s will remember the city center as being crowded with men wearing a pinstripe suit and bowler hat. These were the businessmen, hurrying off to their offices in Bond Street or Fleet Street. They were generally middle class or higher, and university educated, but according to their stereotypes they were conventional and very dull.

However, in today’s world, the pinstripe suit does not always have to be associated with Savile Row (where London’s most famous tailors make suits for the Royal Family) or The Times daily newspaper. Pinstripe suits are also seen in New York, on Wall Street, worn by fashionable financiers, but their influence and association seem to be changing.

First of all, let’s take a look at what makes a pinstripe suit. The “pinstripe suit” is so called because of the narrow stripes that form the design of the fabric, which is generally wool. Its classic color is gray, but these days this tends to vary. Suits in general have been around since the early seventeenth century, replacing the hose and ruffles that men traditionally wore in the Elizabethan era. Suits were more practical, and as time went on they became simpler in style, evolving into today’s lounge and business suits.

The pinstripe suit is associated with the office or the boardroom, as opposed to weddings, receptions, or other occasions requiring a dressier look. At the same time, one would not wear it on a fishing trip or a visit to the local stores. In previous generations, the pinstripe suit was three pieces and included a waistcoat. Today, it is usually composed of two pieces – trousers and a jacket. Whereas our fathers would have worn a pinstripe suit with a hat (but not necessarily a bowler!), today hats are no longer so fashionable.

Up until twenty years ago, every man working in an office would have worn a pinstripe suit. However, the business world has changed to become far more casual. White shirts are being replaced with polo shirts, and pinstripe suits have started to make way for black trousers or even a fancy pair of designer jeans.

In the average American or British workplace (apart from Wall Street or the top merchant banks), it is only the boss who will still be seen wearing a pinstripe suit. In fact, in the western world in general, office formality seems to have changed completely when it comes to sartorial style. One is actually more likely to find a pinstripe suit in the workplace in the top corporations in Tokyo, Bangalore, or Singapore, where people prefer to stick to more formal traditions than in London or New York.

In an effort to keep pinstripe suits in fashion, clothing manufacturers have chosen to make this style a little trendier. Fashion experts explain that it is not only the suit that has to look good. You need the right accessories to go with it. So if you decide that you want to bring formality and decorum back to your workplace, make sure to wear your pinstripe suit with the right tie, cufflinks, and shoes.