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Suit (clothing)
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The man's suit of clothes is a set of garments which are crafted from the same cloth. The word suit derives from the French suite, meaning "following", because the trousers and waistcoat follow the jacket's cloth and colour. There have been various styles of suit, the most common of which is the lounge suit, which originated in England for wearing in the country. The other types of suit still worn today are firstly the dinner suit, part of black tie, which arose as a lounging alternative to dress coats in much the same way as the day lounge suit; and secondly, rarely worn today, the morning suit.
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Encyclopedia
The man's suit of clothes is a set of garments which are crafted from the same cloth. The word suit derives from the French suite, meaning "following", because the trousers and waistcoat follow the jacket's cloth and colour. There have been various styles of suit, the most common of which is the lounge suit, which originated in England for wearing in the country. The other types of suit still worn today are firstly the dinner suit, part of black tie, which arose as a lounging alternative to dress coats in much the same way as the day lounge suit; and secondly, rarely worn today, the morning suit. This article discusses the day-time lounge suit (as opposed to specifically evening variations like black tie), which is part of the 'informal' dress code. A business suit is a lounge suit suitable for wearing when conducting business.
The variations in design, cut, and cloth, such as two- and three- piece, or single- and double- breasted, determine the social and work suitability of the garment. Often, the man's suit is worn, as is traditional, with a collared shirt and necktie. Until around the 1960s, as with all men's clothes, a hat would have been also worn when the wearer was outdoors. Suits also come with different numbers of pieces: a two-piece suit has a jacket and the trousers; a three piece adds a waistcoat; further pieces might include a matching flat cap.
Originally, as with most clothes, a tailor crafted the suit from his client's selected cloth, a process known as "bespoke". The suit was custom made to the measurements, taste, and style of the man. Since the Industrial Revolution, most suits are mass-produced, and, as such, are sold as ready-to-wear garments (though alteration by a tailor prior to wearing is common). Currently, suits are sold in roughly three ways:
- bespoke, in which the garment is custom-made from scratch entirely for the customer, giving the best fit and free choice of fabric;
- made to measure, in which a pre-made pattern is modified to fit the customer, and a limited selection of options and fabrics is available;
- and finally ready-to-wear, which is least expensive and hence most common.
History
The current styles were founded in the revolution during the early seventeenth century that sharply changed the elaborately embroidered and jewelled formal clothing into the simpler clothing of the Regency period, which gradually evolved to the stark formality of the Victorian era. It was in the search for more comfort that the loosening of rules gave rise in the late nineteenth century to the modern lounge suit.
Parts of a suit
There are many possible variations in the choice of the style, the garments and the details of a suit.
The cut
in a two-piece, single-breasted suit.]]
The silhouette of a suit is its outline. No suit is skin-tight; the amount of extra fabric and the way it hangs is known as the drape. The shape of the front of the suit is particularly affected by the way the suit buttons. The two main cuts consist firstly of double-breasted suits, a conservative design with two vertical rows of buttons, spanned by a large overlap of the left and right sides; and secondly, single-breasted suits, on which the sides just meet at the front down a single row of buttons.
British suits are characterised by moderately tapered sides, minimal shoulder padding, and two vents. Italian suits are characterised by strongly padded shoulders, strongly tapered sides, and no vent. American suits are considered more casual than the preceding styles, and are characterised by moderate shoulder padding, minimally tapered sides, and a single vent. The sack suit is a loose American style. Contemporary is a term that includes a variety of recently designed garments that do not fit into the preceding categories.
The suit is cut out from a length of fabric from a roll by a cutter using a cutting pattern, a paper outline of the parts. The pattern can be draughted in various ways. With a ready-to-wear suit, the same pattern is used many times to make identical suits. Made-to-measure and bespoke cutters can work by pattern manipulation, altering a stock pattern, or by using a drafting formula to calculate adjusted lengths. Some bespoke tailors work by "Rock Of Eye", drawing and cutting by eye.
Fabric
Suits are made in a variety of fabrics, but most commonly from wool. The two main yarns produce worsteds (where the fibres are combed before spinning) and woollens (where they are not). These can be woven in a number of ways producing flannel, tweed, gabardine, and fresco among others. These fabrics all have different weights and feel, and some fabrics have an S (or Super S) number describing the fineness of the fibres. For hot weather, linen is also used, and in North America cotton seersucker is worn. Other materials are used sometimes, such as cashmere. Silk and silk blended with wool are sometimes used. Synthetic materials, while cheap, are very rarely recommended by experts.
The main three colours for suits work in business are light grey, dark grey, and navy, either with or without patterns. In particular, grey flannel suiting has been worn very widely since the 1930s. In non-business settings or less-formal business contexts, brown is another important colour; olive also occurs. In summer, lighter shades, such as tan or cream, are popular.
For non-business use tweed has been popular since Victorian times, and still is commonly worn. A wide range of colour is available, including greens, browns, reds, and greys. Tweeds are usually checked, or plain with a herringbone weave, and are most associated with the country. While full tweed suits are not worn by many now, the jackets are often worn as sports jackets with odd trousers (trousers of different cloth).
In the US and UK, suits were never traditionally made in plain black, this colour instead being reserved for formal wear (including dinner jackets or strollers). However, the decline of formal wear in recent years has meant that black, as well as being popular in fashionable scenes, such as clubbing, is now also being worn in formal contexts (such as to a funeral or religious function) in place of the traditional more formal wear.
Traditional business suits are generally in solid colours or with pin stripes; windowpane checks are also acceptable. Outside business, the range of acceptable patterns widens, with plaids such as the traditional Glen plaid, though apart from some very traditional environments such as London banking, these are worn for business now too. The colour of the patterned element (stripes, plaids, and checks) varies by gender and location. For example, bold checks, particularly with tweeds, have fallen out of use in America, while they continue to be worn as traditionally in Britain. Some unusual old patterns such as diamonds are now rare everywhere.
Inside the jacket of a suit, between the outer fabric and the inner lining, there is a layer of fabric that has the purpose of letting the coat keep its shape; this layer of cloth is called the canvas. Expensive jackets have a floating canvas, while cheaply manufactured models have a fused (glued) canvas. A fused canvas is less soft and, if poorly done, damages the suppleness and durability of the jacket, so many tailors are quick to deride fused canvas as being less durable. However, some selling this type of jacket claim that the difference in quality is very small. All bespoke suits use a floating canvas.
Jacket
Front buttons
Most single-breasted suits have two or three buttons, and one or four buttons are unusual. It is rare to find a suit with more than four buttons, although zoot suits can have as many as six or more due to their longer length. There is also variation in the placement and style of buttons, since the button placement is critical to the overall impression of height conveyed by the jacket. The centre or top button will typically line up quite closely with the natural waistline.
Double-breasted jackets have only half their outer buttons functional, as the second row is for display only, forcing them to come in pairs. Some rare jackets can have as few as two buttons, and during various periods, for instance the 1960s and 70s, as many as eight were seen. Six buttons are typical, with two to button; the last pair floats above the overlap. The three buttons down each side may in this case be in a straight line (the 'keystone' layout) or more commonly, the top pair is half as far apart as each pair in the bottom square. A four-button double-breasted jacket usually buttons in a square. The layout of the buttons and the shape of the lapel are co-ordinated in order to direct the eyes of an observer. For example, if the buttons are too low, or the lapel roll too pronounced, the eyes are drawn down from the face, and the waist appears larger.
The custom that a man's coat should button "left side over right", anecdotally originates in the use of the sword, where such cut avoided catching the top of the weapon in the opening of the cloth (since the sword was usually drawn right-handed). Women's suits are buttoned "right side over left". A similar anecdotal story to explain this is that women were dressed by maids, and so the buttons were arranged for the convenience of their, typically, right-handed servants; men on the other hand dressed themselves and so the buttons were positioned to simplify that task.
Lapels
The jacket's lapels can be notched, peaked, shawl, or "trick" (Mandarin and other unconventional styles). Each lapel style carries different connotations, and is worn with different cuts of suit. Notched lapels are only found on single-breasted jackets and are the most informal style. Double-breasted jackets usually have peaked lapels. Shawl lapels are a style derived from the Victorian informal evening wear, and as such are not normally seen on suit jackets.
In the 1980s, double-breasted suits with notched lapels were popular among the Power suit and the New Wave style.
In the late 1920s and 1930s, a design considered very stylish was the single-breasted peaked lapel jacket. This has gone in and out of vogue periodically, being popular once again during the 1970s, and is still a recognised alternative. The ability to properly cut peak lapels on a single-breasted suit is one of the most challenging tailoring tasks, even for very experienced tailors.
The width of the lapel is a varying aspect of suits, and has changed over the years. The 1930s and 1970s featured exceptionally wide lapels, whereas during the late 1950s and most of the 1960s suits with very narrow lapels—often only about an inch wide—were in fashion. The 1980s saw mid-size lapels with a low gorge (the point on the jacket that forms the "notch" or "peak" between the collar and front lapel). Current (mid-2000s) trends are towards a narrower lapel and higher gorge.
Lapels also have a buttonhole on the lapels, intended to hold a boutonničre, a decorative flower. These are now only commonly seen at more formal events. Usually double-breasted suits have one hole on each lapel (with a flower just on the left), while single-breasted suits have just one on the left.
Pockets
Most jackets have a variety of inner pockets, and two main outer pockets, which are generally either patch pockets, flap pockets, or jetted pockets.
The patch pocket is, with its single extra piece of cloth sewn directly onto the front of the jacket, a sporting option, sometimes seen on summer linen suits, or other informal styles. The flap pocket is standard for side pockets, and has an extra lined flap of matching fabric covering the top of the pocket. A jetted pocket is most formal, with a small strip of fabric taping the top and bottom of the slit for the pocket. This style is most often on seen on formalwear, such as a dinner jacket.
In addition to the standard two outer pockets, some suits have a third, the ticket pocket, usually located just above the right pocket and roughly half as wide. While this was originally exclusively a feature of country suits, used for conveniently storing a train ticket, it is now seen on some town suits. Another country feature also worn sometimes in cities is a pair of hacking pockets, which are similar to normal ones, but slanted; this was originally designed to make the pockets easier to open on horseback while hacking.
Sleeves
Suit jackets in all styles typically have three or four buttons on each cuff, which are often purely decorative (the sleeve is sewn closed and cannot be unbuttoned to open). Five buttons are unusual, but are a modern fashion innovation. The number of buttons is primarily a function of the formality of the suit; a very casual summer sports jacket might have traditionally (1930s) have had only one button, while tweed suits typically have three and city suits four. In the 1970s, two buttons were seen on some city suits. Today, four buttons are common on most business suits and even casual suits.
Although the sleeve buttons usually cannot be undone, the stitching is such that it appears they could. Functional cuff buttons may be found on high-end or bespoke suits; this feature is called a surgeon's cuff. Some wearers leave these buttons undone to reveal that they can afford a bespoke suit, although it is proper to leave these buttons done up. Modern bespoke styles and high end off-the-rack suits have the last two buttons stitched off-centre, so that the sleeve hangs more cleanly should the buttons ever be undone.
A cuffed sleeve has an extra length of fabric folded back over the arm, or just some piping or stitching above the buttons to allude to the edge of a cuff. This was popular in the Edwardian era, as a feature of formalwear such as frock coats carried over to informalwear, but is now rare.
Vents
A vent is a slit in the bottom rear (the "tail") of the jacket. Originally, vents were a sporting option, designed to make riding easier, so are traditional on hacking jackets, formal coats such as a morning coat, and, for reasons of pragmatism, overcoats. Today there are three styles of venting: the single-vented style (with one vent at the centre); the ventless style; and the double-vented style (one vent on each side). Vents are convenient, particularly when using a pocket or sitting down, to improve the hang of the jacket, so are now used on most jackets. Ventless jackets are associated with Italian tailoring, while the double-vented style is typically British. (This is not the case with all types of jackets. For instance, dinner jackets traditionally take no vents.)
Belted jackets
Suit jackets with belts on them became popular after World War I, especially on the exaggerated "jazz suits" which were popular in 1920 and 1921. After 1921, a more subdued style prevailed in which the belt was placed solely on the back of the coat, a half-belted back. This continued on many suit coats throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, usually on very fashionably made suits for the young. This style made a brief comeback in the 1970s when some suit coats again featured belts on the back.
Waistcoats
Waistcoats (often called vests in the USA) were almost always worn with suits prior to the 1940s. They were revived in the 1970s and remained popular throughout that decade in some parts of the world, and remain popular still, particularly for example in Germany. Waistcoats can be either single-breasted or double-breasted. A style that was quite popular among fashionable young men in the 1920s was to wear a single-breasted coat with a high-waisted double-breasted waistcoat. High-waisted single-breasted waistcoats were popular in both the 1920s–1930s and in the 1970s, and were often made with either five or six buttons. Today, many suit makers sell suits with waistcoats, although they often cost much more than a simple two-piece suit. A suit with a matching waistcoat is often called a three-piece suit. They are much more popular in continental Europe than in the USA, Britain, or Japan.
Trousers
Suit trousers are always made of the same material as the jacket. Even from the 1910s to 1920s, before the invention of sports jackets specifically to be worn with odd trousers, wearing a suit jacket with odd trousers was as an alternative to a full suit. However, with the modern advent of sports jackets, suit jackets are always worn with matching trousers, and the trousers have always been worn with the appropriate jacket.
One variation in the design of trousers is the use or not of pleats. The most classic style of trouser is to have two pleats, usually forward, since this gives more comfort sitting and better hang standing. This is still a common style, and for these reasons of utility has been worn throughout the twentieth century. The style originally descended from the exaggeratedly widened Oxford bags worn in the 1930s in Oxford, which, though themselves short-lived, began an trend for fuller fronts. The style is still seen as the smartest, featuring on dress trousers with black and white tie. However, at various periods throughout the last century, flat fronted trousers with no pleats have been worn, and the swing in fashions has been marked enough that the more fashion-oriented ready-to-wear brands have not produced both types continuously.
Turn-ups on the bottom of trousers, or cuffs, were initially popularised in the 1890s by Edward VII, and were popular with suits throughout the 1920s and 1930s. After falling out of style in World War II, they were not generally popular again, despite serving the useful purpose of adding weight to straighten the hang of the trousers. They have always been an informal option, being inappropriate on all formalwear.
Other variations in trouser style include the rise of the trouser. This was very high in the early half of the century, particularly with formalwear, with rises above the natural waist, to allow the waistcoat covering the waistband to come down just below the narrowest point of the chest. Though serving less purpose, this high height was duplicated in the daywear of the period. Since then, fashions have changed, and have rarely been that high again with styles returning more to low-rise trousers, even dropping down have waistbands resting on the hips. Other changing aspects of the cut include the length, which determines the break, the bunching of fabric just above the shoe when the front seam is marginally longer than height to the shoe's top. Some parts of the world, such as Europe, traditionally opt for shorter trousers with little or no break, while Americans often choose to wear a slight break.
A final major distinction is made in whether the trousers take a belt or braces. While a belt was originally never worn with a suit, the forced wearing of belts during wartime years contributed to their rise in popularity, with braces now much less popular than belts. When braces were common, the buttons for attaching them were placed on the outside of the waistband, because they would be covered be a waistcoat or cardigan, but now it is more frequent to button on the inside of the trouser. Trousers taking braces are rather different in cut at the waist, employing inches of extra girth and also height at the back. The split in the waistband at the back is in the fishtail shape.
Breeches
As an alternative to trousers, breeches (or knickers in variations of English where this does not refer to underwear) may be worn with informal suits, such as tweed. These are shorter, descending to just below the knees, fastened closely at the top of the calf by a tab or button cuff. While once common, they are now typically only worn when engaged in traditional outdoor sports, such as shooting. The length and design is closely related to the plus-fours (and plus-sixes etc.) worn for sport, but differ in having no bagginess. They are usually designed to be worn with long socks meeting just below the knee, but riding breeches, worn with long boots such as top boots, are long enough to meet the boot and display no sock.
Situations for wearing and perceptions of suits
The uniform impression of a suit can carry numerous connotations. In business settings it can communicate respectability and taste. In different milieus, the connotations of corporate life that the suit represents convey unadventurous conformism. Extreme variations on the suit can convey the opposite (for example, many pimps, or men wanting to be perceived as such, wear exaggerated versions of suits containing various hues, patterns, etc.).
Because wearing a suit conveys a respectable image, many people dress in suits during the job interview process. An interview suit is usually a conservative style, and often made of blue or grey coloured fabric. Interview suits are frequently composed of wool or wool-blend fabric, with a solid or pin stripe pattern. The style of an interview suit, however, will depend on the organizational culture of the industry in which a person seeks employment.
When used to refer to management staff in corporations as "suits", the term "suit" can express contempt for the perceived absence of autonomy imposed on members in a uniform elitist bureaucracy. It may also be a comment on the perceived amorality of those who work for corporations.
In modern society, men's suits have gone out of favour as an outfit of daily wear, and are now worn rarely on a daily basis by most men except for some sectors in the trades of business and finance and in law. For other men, particularly in Western society, a suit is an ensemble of clothing reserved for special occasions, such as weddings, funerals, and other more formal social events. Hence, because they are not a daily outfit for most men, they are often viewed as being "stuffy" and uncomfortable, mostly because poor suits limit freedom of movement. The combination of a tie, belt and vest can be tight and restrictive compared to contemporary casual wear. Therefore, in nearly all classes of society, suits are no longer a required part of daily work or leisure attire, except in higher-level business circles. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, men's suits became less commonly worn in much the same way as skirts and dresses were dropped by many women in favour of trousers. This was seen as a liberation from the conformity of earlier periods and declined concurrently with the women's liberation movement. For professions which still call for a dressier approach to clothing (sometimes referred to in the US as white collar jobs), an acceptable alternative to a suit may be a shirt with a tie.
On the other hand, well-made suits are not at all uncomfortable, and many fashion experts advocate the return of at least jackets and ties, if not suits and ties, as a standard option for everyday clothing, despite their negative popular image and infrequent use outside work contexts. In more traditional cities, such as Cambridge or Oxford, this view is correspondingly more common than in more casually dressed cities such as Los Angeles.
Suit etiquette for men
Buttoning the suit jacket
The buttoning of the jacket is primarily determined by the button stance, a measure of how high the buttons are in relation to the natural waist. In some (now unusual) styles where the buttons are placed high, the tailor would have intended the suit to be buttoned differently from the more common lower stance. Nevertheless, some general guidelines are given here.
Double-breasted suit coats are almost always kept buttoned. When there is more than one to fasten (as in a traditional six-on-two arrangement), only the top one need be fastened; in some configurations, the wearer may elect to fasten only the bottom button, in order to present a longer line (a style popularised by the Prince George, Duke of Kent).
Single-breasted suit coats may be either fastened or unfastened. In two-button suits the bottom button is left unfastened except with certain unusual cuts of jacket. When fastening a three-button suit, the middle button is fastened, and the top one sometimes, but the bottom is not designed to be (although in the past some jackets were cut so that it could be fastened without distorting the drape, this is not the case with current clothing). A four-button suit is untraditional and so has no traditional guidelines on buttoning, but the middle ones at least should be fastened. Additionally, the one button suit has rerisen to some popularity (it is also a classic style for some Savile Row tailors). The button should always be fastened while standing.
With a single-breasted suit, it is proper to have the buttons unfastened while sitting down to avoid an ugly drape. A good double-breasted suit is usually able to be left buttoned, to avoid the difficulty of constantly redoing inner buttons when standing up.
Ties with suits
Working with neckties is very much a matter of personal taste, but in conservative terms there are some basic guidelines. Ties should always be darker than the wearer's shirt. The background colour of the tie should not be the same as that of the shirt, while the foreground of the tie should contain the colour of the shirt and thereby "pick up" on the colour of the shirt. Ideally, the tie should also integrate the colour of the suit in the same way. Generally, simple or subdued patterns are preferred for conservative dress, though these are terms with a wide range of interpretation. In recent times however, it has become popular to match the necktie colour with the shirt or even wearing a lighter coloured tie with a darker shirt, usually during formal occasions. Some of the most common knots are the Four-in-hand, the Half-Windsor, the Windsor (or Full-Windsor), and the Shelby or Pratt. A Four-in-hand, Half-Windsor, or Windsor is generally the most appropriate with a suit, particularly by contemporary guidelines. Once properly knotted and arranged, the bottom of the tie can extend anywhere from the wearer's navel level, to slightly below the waistband. The thin end should never extend below the wide end. In the 1960s, it was fashionable for men as well as women to wear scarves with a suit in a tied knot either inside a shirt as an Ascot or under the collar as a would be worn like a tie. This style was more common towards anyone in the art departments such as film directors or more commonly musicians. This style began to fade by the mid 1970s and came back in the 1990s mainly for women. It did however make a small comeback by 2005 and some famous stars wear them. Although some wore scarves back in the 1960s, ties were still preferred among business workers.
It has become fashionable to wear a suit without a tie and with an open necked shirt among young men. Sometimes it can be deemed fashionable to wear a black shirt with a black jacket, with the tie being black containing stripes, so they "pop-out" with the black shirt. This is more of a casual wear rather than business.
Shirts with suits
The type of shirt worn by men with a suit is a top made of woven cloth, with long sleeves, a full-length buttoned opening down the front, and a collar. This type of garment is known in American English as a dress shirt but simply as a shirt in other English dialects. This type of shirt is sometimes called an Oxford shirt; however, this properly refers to a shirt made from a specific kind of fabric, namely Oxford cloth, in a specific style (i.e., with button-down collars). The (dress) shirt is ironed, neatly tucked into its wearer's trousers, and otherwise worn according to the etiquette described in the article Dress shirt.
The classic shirt colours are light blue or white, with white considered most conservative. However, numerous colours and shades are available, with pastels particularly popular in America, though less-formal colours are not always acceptable. The most formal type of dress shirt worn with a standard suit is a shirt with linked, but not French, cuffs, which are closed using cuff links or silk knots instead of buttons. However, this type of shirt is optional, and essentially up to the preferences of the wearer and the vagaries of fashion.
The most traditional collar is a spread collar. This is frequently the default collar type for French cuff shirts, though they can sometimes be found with point collars. Normally, button-down collars are reserved for casual use with a sports jacket or without a coat at all, though they have long been acceptable in America. The button-down collar is not seeing as much wear today, particularly with the resurgence of more formal shirts with spread collars and French cuffs, even in business casual wear.
Socks with suits
In the United States it is common for socks to match the trouser leg. This makes the leg appear longer and minimises the attention drawn by a trouser leg tailored to be too short. A more general rule is for socks to be darker than the shade of the trousers, but potentially a different colour. With patterned socks, ideally the background colour of the sock should match the primary colour of the suit. If it is not possible to match the trouser leg, socks may match one's shoes. In particular, pale or even white socks might be worn with, for example, a cream linen suit with white shoes. This has occasionally been fashionable, such as in the 1950s or Mods styles, but is not common. In practice therefore socks are usually black or brown, particularly for more conservative occasions.
Socks are preferably at least mid-calf height (over-the-calf), if not knee-height, and are usually made predominantly of cotton or wool, though luxury or dress socks may use more exotic blends such as silk and cashmere. Before the War, patterned socks were common, and a variety of designs like Argyle or contrasting clocks was commonly seen. After the War, socks became more subdued in colour.
Shoes with suits
The correct footwear varies from country to country. Shoes should always be smarter shoes, such as Oxfords (Balmorals in American English), Derbies (Blüchers), or smart slip-ons; never very casual shoes such as trainers (sneakers) or deck shoes. A slip-on is normally only worn with a modern and very informal suit: brown or sometimes navy. Shoes also have differing degrees of decoration, with less ornamentation being more formal, leaving half- and full- brogues as less formal options. Shoes are broadly divided into the two categories of black and not black. Black shoes are worn with all business suits by the English, who traditionally keep brown shoes with suits for tweed or linen only. The rest of the world wears black with grey or black suits, and brown with navy and non-business suits. The shades of brown also vary considerably, as only Americans generally wear colours like cordovan or oxblood; lighter browns are less formal and more appropriate for summer, for example with linen.
Accessories with suits
Belts come in and out of fashion; at the turn of the century and in the 1930s–40s they were worn less than braces (suspenders), but now are generally worn more; in some countries such as the UK, traditionalist men still do not wear belts with suits. If worn, the belt and shoes must be roughly the same colour, with the belt a smart one (leather, plain silver or gold coloured buckle). Braces are often worn if a belt is not.
Jewellery should be kept to an absolute minimum, consisting at most of cuff links, tie bars or tacks, and a timepiece. The thinner the watch, the more formal, and analogue watches are more formal than digital. In the most formal situations, a pocket watch, or no watch at all, should be worn. When worn, a pocket watch is not placed in the trouser pocket, but usually accompanies a waistcoat. In this case it may be carried in any of its pockets, but commonly where it can be easily accessed, such as a left pocket for a right-handed man. The watch is not carried loose, but is attached by a watch chain, which is threaded through the watch-hole: on traditional waistcoats, halfway down is an extra horizontal hole, not intended for a button, which is meant to used for the watch chain; if no such hole is present, a buttonhole is used instead. A chain normally has one or two ends, the first of which attaches to the watch, the second holding either a decorative fob or a key for winding the watch; a bar in the middle catches on the buttonhole, holding the watch if it is dropped. Pocket watches are occasionally placed in the breast pocket, secured to the lapel buttonhole.
Handkerchiefs (pocket squares) in the upper welt (chest) pocket are not especially common today. Originally, handkerchiefs were worn partially protruding from the left jacket sleeve. Over time, they migrated to the breast pocket. When silk was still a rare and expensive commodity, they were considered a flamboyant extravagance by conservative commentators. By the end of the 19th century, however, they had become a standard accoutrement for gentlemen, and in some places are still considered obligatory on any jacket or coat with a breast pocket.
Suit etiquette for women
Suit-wearing etiquette for women generally follows the same guidelines used by men, with a few differences and more flexibility.
For women, a blouse (usually white) takes the place of a shirt. Blue and pink blouses are also seen. Women have more leeway in selecting their top than men have in selecting their shirt. Sometimes a high-quality knit top replaces the blouse; this is not universally accepted but is common, particularly if the top is made of a luxurious material.
Women generally do not wear neckties with their suit. Fancy silk scarves that resemble a floppy ascot tie were popular in North America in the 1970s, worn with pant suits. At that time women entered the white-collar workforce in large numbers and their dress fashions imitated men's business wear.
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