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The History of The Navy Blue Suit

post #1 of 12
1/29/12 at 8:14am
Thread Starter 

Hello, I am new here, and I have a major passion for history.  One part of this history is the history of men's clothing.  I've been reading up on the navy blue suit.  Looking through photos you can see that through Victorian and Edwardian times that many people wore the black frock coat, a grey sack coat, or a brown sack coat...Now my question here is if anyone could tell me where the navy blue suit appeared in the history of men's wear.  I really would appreciate if someone had the answer out there. Thank you.

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post #2 of 12
1/29/12 at 8:19am
tonnes of resources available for you...

search this forum for threads on "books to read about suits" and you'll find a bunch including Flussers, Equire's, etc...,
then youtube for a BBC documentary called 'the suit',
also check out Ask Andy's forum, and possible other forums like London Lounge or Film Noir Buff, etc...
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post #3 of 12
1/29/12 at 8:34am
Very short answer is that in the Regency period, blue was the standard color for coats though these were not suits as the trousers (breeches really) did not match. Blue gave way to black in the mid-19th century. Formal clothes mostly still did not have matching coats and trousers. The suit, defined as matching coat and trousers (same cloth) started out as sports and liesure wear not appropriate in town. When it finally started to be worn informally in town (late 19th century) blue and dark gray were standard colors. The blue serge suit was the most common garment around. Everybody had one and if a man had only one suit it was a blue serge.
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post #4 of 12
1/29/12 at 10:53am
I agree with most of what Manton wrote, though IIRC, according to Cunnington & Cunnington, blue was only one standard color for day city coats during the Regency: brown and dark green and maroon were also standards. It was only in the 1830s that blue and black began to dominate town daywear, which led the Count D'Orsay to try to revive brown for city coats. Even then, there was plenty of color in men's city daywear until the 1850s or so. And it wasn't necessarily dark: all shades of blue were worn during the Regency and even after. Interestingly, dark gray seems to have been a rare color for coats unil the 1880s or so.

A suit made of one fabric is, strictly, called "a suit of dittoes." Cunnington & Cunnington cite a Regency diary as saying that "Father went out today in a suit of dittoes made up of brown fustian." (Google "Roger Sherman portrait" to see what this might look like.) Throughout the 19th century, people thought a suit of dittoes more casual than a suit made up of dark coat and light pants. How the conventions have changed!
Edited by Testudo_Aubreii - 1/29/12 at 11:04am
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post #5 of 12
1/29/12 at 11:09am
P. S. As Will Boehlke of a A Suitable Wardrobe has said: when you wear a blue blazer and tan wool trousers, you are wearing a suit of the same colors and fabrics as Beau Brummell's uniform for city daywear. (He would probably have worn an ivory or dove gray vest, though.)

As Sator has said, wear them with riding-descended boots like Chelseas or Jodhpurs, and you have a real homage to the look:

435
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post #6 of 12
1/29/12 at 11:23am
I remember reading somewhere that navy surpassed black with the advent of artificial lighting, as navy appears darker than black because of black's sheen in the light or something.

Navy also compliments most white people's skin better, black's harsh contrast tends to wash out white skin.
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post #7 of 12
1/29/12 at 2:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Svenn View Post

Navy also compliments most white people's skin better, black's harsh contrast tends to wash out white skin.

Most british people's skin, you mean?

That's highly dependent on individual coloring. Black is absolutely fine on me, because while I'm white, there's enough color in my skin, paired with nearly black hair, that my coloration stands up to black just fine.

If your skin is pale and you have lower contrast hair (brown, blonde) then that may hold true. But I wouldn't say most.
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post #8 of 12
1/30/12 at 2:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by cptjeff View Post

Most british people's skin, you mean?

Yes, pale northern europeans lol ... Mediterraneans often look good in black I agree.
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post #9 of 12
1/30/12 at 2:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Manton View Post

Very short answer is that in the Regency period, blue was the standard color for coats though these were not suits as the trousers (breeches really) did not match. Blue gave way to black in the mid-19th century. Formal clothes mostly still did not have matching coats and trousers. The suit, defined as matching coat and trousers (same cloth) started out as sports and liesure wear not appropriate in town. When it finally started to be worn informally in town (late 19th century) blue and dark gray were standard colors. The blue serge suit was the most common garment around. Everybody had one and if a man had only one suit it was a blue serge.


thanks for the information.

 

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post #10 of 12
1/30/12 at 3:41am

I appreciate anything historical so this is quite interesting.

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post #11 of 12
2/1/12 at 12:40pm
Thread Starter 

Wow, this is news to me.  I had believed that grey was a standard through the ages.  Hard to tell with black and white photos.  Thank you gentlemen.  I hope to hear and learn more.  

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post #12 of 12
2/2/12 at 7:07am
Gray has been a standard, it's just that dark gray wasn't nearly as popular as black or oxford gray for city coats during the black frock coat years of the mid-19th century. When gentlemen started wearing lounge suits of dittoes in London--scandalously, in the early 1870s; edgily, in the early 1880s; uncontroversially, in the early 1890s--dark gray became popular as a less severe alternative to black or oxford gray. A solid black frock coat was usually worn with vest and trousers of a lighter color, to break up the severity. But with a suit of dittoes, that's obviously not an option. So, as a less somber alternative to a black lounge suit of dittoes, solid dark gray began its rise to prominence. The other alternative to a black lounge suit of dittoes was a black or oxford gray lounge coat worn with a lighter vest and trousers: what's now called "black lounge/stroller/Stresemann/Director's suit." But by 1970, that ensemble was pretty much extinct, its place occupied by what laypeople now call "a charcoal suit."
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