Did COVID Kill the Suit?

[smittycl]

I work in DC where the suit is alive and well. Basically required in most agencies. There's been a lightening of standards as a lot of folks still telework but not too much. Since most folks have to wear a suit vice really want to Jos A. Bank rules the day. Most guys just buy the cheapest yet most durable suits they can find.

Women do notice when a guy puts some basic effort into a good silhouette and fit with some pattern, texture, and color coordination. I seriously enjoy wearing suits and feel like it helps with my work game-face and overall seriousness. Working in sweats and such is a non-starter for me. Rather than casualize my wardrobe too much I just mix in some interesting sport coats and trousers, Chelsea boots, and such.

I tend not to wear suits out at night as I wear one all day. In the summer I use shirt-jackets/overshirts over a linen t-shirt with some nice pants. Fox Brothers makes some really nice seasonal Teba jackets that work as well. I'll wear sport coats out in cooler weather (DC is a sticky mess in warm weather and even lightweight sport coats are a bit much).

 

[JFWR]

Haha, well in politics, I remember when Andrew Yang caused a stir by not wearing a tie to a debate.

I personally love to see ties and 3-piece suits and all aspects of elegant tailoring. I'm just talking in generalities here, and the numbers tell a different story. Suits and ties are increasingly falling in popularity, and their former relevance as the default daily white-collar look is probably never coming back. At least in North America. I recognize that other countries have not relaxed their workplace dress codes as much.

The Atlantic did a decent piece on this last year

I definitely believe that beautiful suits and ties will still be actively made and enjoyed by style enthusiasts. Just like vinyl and hi-fi equipment is enjoyed by audiophiles... even if the masses are content with streaming music and bluetooth speakers.

I mean, Andrew Yang is a perfect example of the douchebag politician look.

Andrew Yang came out of the finance and other weird space, didn't he? So his transition into douchebag politican was seamless.

It's a look I've seen a lot in those circles.

Another example: I was watching The Terminal List, and all the douchebag financiers were wearing the grey sports coat with white or blue dress shirt, no tie look. It was a look of a dude with a lot of money, but no real sartorial interests. He wore the jacket probably because that was expected of him, that's it. It wasn't the look of someone who looks cool.

In contrast, the best dressed man on TV right now that I can think of is DA Carissi on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.

He's always wearing really beautiful three piece suits in the court room scenes in dark charcoal, navy, etc, with or without patterns. He also has an interest in bespoke shoes (there was an episode about a bespoke maker), and is otherwise very style-focused.

Then again, it is quite clear that the character is depicted as something of a clothes horse, despite coming from working class Italian cops from Staten Island.