Misplaced Pages

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130-498: There are three basic forms of lapel: notched, peaked, and shawl. The notched lapel, the most common, is usually seen on business suits , and on more casual jackets like blazers and sport coats . The peaked lapel is more formal , and nearly always used on double-breasted jackets, but also frequently appears on single breasted ones. The shawl lapel is usually carried by tuxedos and mess jackets . The notched lapel (American English), step lapel or step collar (British English)

260-584: A 75-to-90 degree "notch" at the point where the lapel meets the collar. Peaked lapels have sharp edges that point upward towards the shoulders. Double-breasted jackets usually have peaked lapels, although peaked lapels are sometimes found on single breasted jackets as well. Shawl lapels are a style derived from the Victorian informal evening wear, and as such are not normally seen on suit jackets except for tuxedos or dinner suits. For black tie events , only jackets with pointed and shawl lapels should be worn. In

390-583: A belt may allow the trouser waist to slip down on the hips or below a protruding midsection, and requires constant repositioning; also, they allow, indeed work best with, a slightly looser waist which gives room for natural expansion when seated. Suit trousers, also known as dress pants in the US, are a style of trousers intended as formal , semi-formal , or informal wear. They are often made of either wool or polyester (although many other synthetic and natural textiles are used) and may be designed to be worn with

520-515: A collared dress shirt , necktie , and dress shoes . A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of trousers. It is currently considered semi-formal wear or business wear in contemporary Western dress codes , however when the suit was originally developed it was considered an informal or more casual option compared to the prevailing clothing standards of aristocrats and businessmen. The lounge suit originated in 19th-century Britain as sportswear and British country clothing , which

650-562: A combined White population smaller than that of London would hold off the concentrated power of the British Empire for 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 years and take 400,000 Imperial troops to secure victory. The war split the Liberal Party into anti- and pro-war factions. Great orators, such as Liberal David Lloyd George , who spoke against the war, became increasingly influential. Nevertheless, Liberal Unionist Joseph Chamberlain , who

780-406: A conservative design with two columns of buttons, spanned by a large overlap of the left and right sides; and single-breasted suits, in which the sides meet in the centre of the torso with a single column of buttons, overlapping only enough for one, two or three buttons to close, with by convention the jacket front cut so that the lowest button is not designed to close. Good tailoring anywhere in

910-576: A determination to retain a strong naval advantage, the British lacked a military strategy or plans for a major war. The Edwardian era stands out as a time of peace and prosperity. Britain's growth rate, manufacturing output and GDP (but not GDP per capita) fell behind its rivals, the United States and Germany, though the nation still led the world in trade, finance and shipping, and had strong bases in manufacturing and mining. The industrial sector

1040-444: A flower just on the left), while single-breasted suits have just one on the left. Most jackets have a variety of inner pockets and two main outer pockets, which are generally either patch pockets, flap pockets, or jetted ("besom") 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

1170-518: A fold of cloth from the lining into the front of the lapel, a universal consideration of frock coats and dress coats of the period, but abandoned in favor of the current single-piece lapels at the same time as the switch to morning coats and lounge suits. Modern lapels are largely identical in form to their 1930s counterparts. Some historians of dress such as Bernard Rudofsky have ridiculed the evolution of jacket lapels into "vastly unnecessary flaps" and "decorative rudiments", while others have celebrated

1300-546: A form of rebellion against the child-bearing role women were expected to assume. Many considered abortion to be a selfish act that allowed a woman to avoid personal responsibility, contributing to a decline in moral values. Abortion was often a solution for women who already had children and did not want more. Consequently, the size of families decreased drastically. The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 defined who could receive monetary relief. The Act reflected and perpetuated prevailing gender conditions. In Edwardian society, men were

1430-432: A hidden button holds the underlap in place. The jacket's lapels can be notched (also called "stepped"), peaked ("pointed"), shawl, or "trick" (Mandarin and other unconventional styles). Each lapel style carries different connotations and is worn with different cuts of suit. Notched lapels, the most common of the three, are usually only found on single-breasted jackets and are the most informal style. They are distinguished by

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1560-564: A jacket and trousers; a three-piece suit adds a waistcoat. Hats were almost always worn outdoors (and sometimes indoors) with all men's clothes until the counterculture of the 1960s in Western culture . Informal suits have been traditionally worn with a fedora , a trilby , or a flat cap . Other accessories include handkerchief, suspenders or belt, watch, and jewelry. Other notable types of suits are for what would now be considered formal occasions—the tuxedo or dinner suit (black tie) and

1690-453: 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. Necktie width usually follows the width of the jacket lapel. Lapels also have a buttonhole , intended to hold a boutonnière , a decorative flower. These are now only commonly seen at more formal events. Usually, double-breasted suits have one hole on each lapel (with

1820-516: A matching suit jacket. Suit trousers often have a crease in the front of each pant leg, and may have one or more pleats. Suit trousers can be worn at many formal and semi-formal occasions combined with a shirt that has no tie and a more relaxed fashion, which can be considered smart casual dress. 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

1950-644: A number of ways, producing flannel , tweed , gabardine , and fresco among others. These fabrics all have different weights and feels, and some fabrics have an S (or Super S) number describing the fineness of the fibres measured by average fibre diameter, e.g., Super 120; the finer the fabric, the more delicate and thus less likely to be long-wearing it will be. Although wool has traditionally been associated with warm, bulky clothing meant for warding off cold weather, advances in making finer and finer fibre have made wool suits acceptable for warmer weather, as fabrics have accordingly become lighter and more supple. Wool fabric

2080-544: 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. Dinner jackets traditionally have no vents. Waistcoats (called vests in American English) were almost always worn with suits prior to the 1940s. Due to rationing during World War II , their prevalence declined, but their popularity has gone in and out of fashion from

2210-643: A policy of using the European balance of power to keep the peace. There were no wars. Bismarck was removed by an aggressive young Kaiser Wilhelm in 1890, effectively decentralizing the Bismarckian Order that had been shrewdly managed, and empowering French efforts to isolate Germany. With the formation of the Triple Entente , Germany began to feel encircled: to the West lay France, with whom rivalry

2340-508: A political voice. There was significant support for woman suffrage in all the parties, but the Liberal Party was in control after 1906 and a handful of its leaders, especially H. H. Asquith , blocked it. There were numerous organisations which did their work quietly. After 1897, they were increasingly linked together by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) led by Millicent Fawcett . However, front page publicity

2470-524: A quick victory for the side that was better-prepared, better armed, and faster to move. No one saw that the innovations of recent decades—high explosives, long-range artillery and machine guns—were defensive weapons that practically guaranteed defeat of massed infantry attacks with very high casualties. After 1805 the dominance of Britain's Royal Navy was unchallenged; in the 1890s Germany decided to match it. Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz (1849–1930) dominated German naval policy from 1897 until 1916. Before

2600-527: A senior official of the new government and even became a top British official in the World War. In 1901, the six British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia united to form the Commonwealth of Australia, with almost complete control of its internal affairs, but with foreign policy and defence handled by London. Edmund Barton

2730-461: A single-breasted suit is one of the most challenging tailoring tasks, even for very experienced tailors. The shawl lapel , shawl collar , or roll collar is a continuous curve. Originally seen on the Victorian smoking jacket , it is now most common on the dinner jacket or tuxedo. This similarly began as informal eveningwear, and was then made in both more and less formal versions, depending on

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2860-495: A suit (in this sense) covers all or most of the wearer's body, the term "suit" was extended to a single garment that covers all or most of the body, such as boilersuits , diving suits , and spacesuits . The suit's origins trace the simplified, sartorial standard established by the English king Charles II in the 17th century, following the example of his one-time host King Louis XIV 's court at Versailles , who decreed that in

2990-417: A suit is its outline. Tailored balance created from a canvas fitting allows a balanced silhouette so a jacket need not be buttoned and a garment is not too tight or too loose. A proper garment is shaped from the neck to the chest and shoulders to drape without wrinkles from tension. Shape is the essential part of tailoring that often takes hand work from the start. The two main cuts are double-breasted suits,

3120-432: 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. The bottom button is usually not meant to be buttoned and so

3250-424: 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 extra girth and also height at the back. The split in the waistband at the back is in the fishtail shape. Those who prefer braces assert that, because they hang from the shoulders, they always make the trousers fit and hang exactly as they should, while

3380-442: A woman's life. Because abortion was illegal and physicians refused to perform the procedure, local women provided abortions, often using crochet hooks or similar instruments. Feminists of the era focused on educating and finding jobs for women, leaving aside the controversial issues of contraceptives and abortion, which in popular opinion were often related to promiscuity and prostitution. The Church condemned abortion as immoral and

3510-617: Is also used, and in the Southern United States, cotton seersucker is worn. The main four colours for suits worn in business are black, 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

3640-501: Is called a surgeon's cuff and "working button holes" (U.S.). 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 equipped with surgeon's cuffs have the last two buttons stitched off-centre, so that the sleeve hangs more cleanly should the buttons ever be undone. Certainty in fitting sleeve length must be achieved, as once working button holes are cut,

3770-528: Is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King George V . The era is dated from the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901, which marked the end of the Victorian era . Her son and successor, Edward VII, was already the leader of a fashionable elite that set a style influenced by the art and fashions of continental Europe . Samuel Hynes described

3900-421: Is commonly worn. A wide range of colour is available, including muted shades of green, brown, red, and grey. 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). The most conventional suit has two or three buttons and

4030-484: Is denominated by the weight of a one-square yard piece; thus, the heavier wools, suitable for winter only, are 12–14 oz.; the medium, "three-season" (i.e., excluding summer) are 10–11 oz.; and summer wools are 7–8 oz. (In the days before central heating, heavier wools such as 16 oz. were used in suits; now they are used mainly in overcoats and topcoats.) Other materials are used sometimes, either alone or blended with wool, such as cashmere . Silk alone or blended with wool

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4160-412: Is either medium-to-dark grey or navy. Other conservative colours are grey, black, and olive. White and light blues are acceptable at some events, especially in the warm season. Red and the brighter greens are usually considered "unconventional" and "garish". Tradition calls for a gentleman's suit to be of decidedly plain colour, with splashes of bright colour reserved for shirts, neckties or kerchiefs. In

4290-402: Is generally credited with first offering the "ready-to-wear" suit, a suit that was sold already manufactured and sized, ready to be tailored, while Haggar Clothing first introduced the concept of suit separates in the U.S., which are widely found in the marketplace today. There are many possible variations in the choice of the style, the garments, and the details of a suit. The silhouette of

4420-402: 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 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide—were in fashion. The 1980s saw mid-size lapels with

4550-490: Is sewn to the collar at an angle, creating a step effect. This is the standard on single-breasted suits, and is used on nearly all suit jackets, blazers , and sports jackets . The notched lapel double-breasted jacket is a rare setting. The size of the notch can vary, and a small notch is sometimes called fishmouth . This was the first type of lapel to appear and is the most common one. The peaked lapel (American English), peak lapel , or pointed lapel (British English),

4680-410: Is sometimes used. Synthetic materials, e.g., polyester , while cheaper, are very rarely recommended by experts. At most, a blend of predominantly wool may be acceptable to obtain the main benefit of synthetics, namely resistance to wrinkling, particularly in garments used for travel; however, any synthetic, blended or otherwise, will always be warmer and clammier than wool alone. For hot weather, linen

4810-426: 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. A breast pocket is usually found at the left side, where a pocket square or handkerchief can be displayed. In addition to

4940-435: Is the most formal, featuring on double-breasted jackets, all formal coats such as a tailcoat or morning coat , and also commonly with a tuxedo (both single and double breasted). In the late 1920s and 1930s, the single breasted peaked lapel jacket was considered a very stylish design. The feature was carried into day clothing by the increasing popularity of the peaked dinner jacket . The ability to cut peak lapels properly on

5070-503: Is why it was seen as more casual than citywear at that time, with the roots of the suit coming from early modern Western Europe formal court or military clothes. After replacing the black frock coat in the early 20th century as regular daywear, a sober one-coloured suit became known as a lounge suit. Suits are offered in different designs and constructions. Cut and cloth, whether two- or three-piece, single- or double-breasted, vary, in addition to various accessories . A two-piece suit has

5200-546: The Franco-Russian Alliance of 1894, the 1904 Entente Cordiale linking France and Great Britain, and finally the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907 which became the Triple Entente . France thus had a formal alliance with Russia, and an informal alignment with Britain, against Germany and Austria. By 1903 good relations had been established with the United States and Japan. Britain abandoned

5330-545: The Great Male Renunciation of the late 18th century, sharply changed the elaborately embroidered and jewelled formal clothing into the simpler clothing of the British Regency period, which gradually evolved to the stark formality of the Victorian era . In the late 19th century, it was in the search for more comfort that the loosening of rules gave rise to the modern lounge suit. Brooks Brothers

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5460-463: The Mao suit . Business suit [REDACTED] = Day (before 6 p.m.) [REDACTED] = Evening (after 6 p.m.)     = Bow tie colour [REDACTED] = Ladies [REDACTED] = Gentlemen A suit , also called a lounge suit , business suit , dress suit , or formal suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with

5590-484: The black lounge suit (stroller)—both which originally arose as less formal alternatives for the prior formal wear standards known as white tie , which incorporated items such as the dress coat , and of morning dress , which incorporated items such as the morning coat with formal trousers . Originally, suits were always tailor-made from the client's selected cloth. These are now known as bespoke suits, custom-made to measurements, taste, and style preferences. Since

5720-464: The industrial working class . Women started (again) to play more of a role in politics. The Edwardian period is sometimes portrayed as a romantic golden age of long summer days and garden parties, basking in a sun that never set on the British Empire . This perception was created in the 1920s and later by those who remembered the Edwardian age with nostalgia, looking back to their childhoods across

5850-465: The 1910-1911 Tonypandy riots ; the 1911 Liverpool general transport strike ; the National coal strike of 1912 ; and the 1913 Dublin lockout . It was modern Britain's worst labour unrest and compares with the 1926 general strike . The period of unrest was labelled "great" not because of its scale, but due to the level of violence employed by both the state and labourers; including deaths of strikers at

5980-409: 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 seen 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 are worn with no jacket or the appropriate jacket. Trouser width has varied considerably throughout

6110-417: The 1920s to the 1940s, that would be unusual today (one point of a double-breasted jacket being, it may be supposed, to eliminate the waistcoat). Traditionally, the bottom button of a waistcoat is left undone; like the vents in the rear of a jacket, this helps the body bend when sitting. Some waistcoats can have lapels; others do not. Suit trousers are always made of the same material as the jacket. Even from

6240-402: 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 again as each pair in the bottom square. A four-button double-breasted jacket usually buttons in a square. The layout of

6370-531: The 1960s, most suits have been mass-produced ready-to-wear garments. Currently, suits are offered in roughly four ways: The word suit derives from the French suite , meaning "following," from some Late Latin derivative form of the Latin verb sequor = "I follow," because the component garments (jacket and trousers and waistcoat ) follow each other and have the same cloth and colour and are worn together. As

6500-416: The 1970s onwards. A pocket watch on a chain, one end of which is inserted through a middle buttonhole, is often worn with a waistcoat; otherwise, since World War I , when they came to prominence of military necessity, men have worn wristwatches, which may be worn with any suit except the full evening dress ( white tie ). Although many examples of waistcoats worn with a double-breasted jacket can be found from

6630-472: The 1980s, double-breasted suits with notched lapels were popular with power suits 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 peaked lapels on a single-breasted suit

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6760-430: The 1980s, these styles disappeared in favor of tapered, slim-legged trousers. 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 20th century. The style originally descended from

6890-538: The Anglican fold – were a powerful element, dedicated to opposing the established church in the fields of education and taxation. However, the Dissenters were losing support and played a lesser and lesser role in party affairs after 1900. The party also included Roman Catholics, including the notable Catholic intellectual Hilaire Belloc , who sat as a Liberal MP between 1906 and 1910. They included secularists from

7020-559: The Clyde River, marked as it was by the emergence of independent locally based unions among both dockers and seamen. By the late-1880s, the Industrial Revolution had created new technologies that changed the way people lived. The growth of industry shifts in manufacturing factories, special-purpose machinery and technological innovations, which led to increased productivity. Gender roles shifted as women made use of

7150-481: The Conservative government, with Arthur Balfour as Prime Minister , had numerous successes in foreign policy, defence, and education, as well as solutions for the issues of alcohol licensing and land ownership for the tenant farmers of Ireland. Nevertheless, the weaknesses were accumulating, and proved so overwhelming in 1906 that the party did not return to complete power until 1922 . The Conservative Party

7280-443: The Edwardian era as a "leisurely time when women wore picture hats and did not vote, when the rich were not ashamed to live conspicuously, and the sun never set on the British flag." The Liberals returned to power in 1906 and made significant reforms . Below the upper class, the era was marked by significant shifts in politics among sections of society that had largely been excluded from power, such as labourers , servants , and

7410-643: The English Court men would wear a long coat, a waistcoat (then called a " petticoat "), a cravat (a precursor of the necktie), a wig , knee breeches (trousers), and a hat. The paintings of Jan Steen , Pieter Bruegel the Elder , and other painters of the Dutch Golden Era reveal that such an arrangement was already used in Holland, if not Western Europe as a whole. The current styles, founded in

7540-652: The German Empire formed in 1871, Prussia never had a real navy, nor did the other German states. Tirpitz turned a modest fleet into a world-class one that could threaten the British Royal Navy. The British responded with new technology typified by the Dreadnought . It made every other class of battleship obsolete and, supported by a global network of coaling stations and telegraph cables, enabled Britain to stay well ahead in naval affairs. Apart from

7670-609: The House of Lords, the Liberals lost most of their members, who in the 1890s "became Conservative in all but name." The government could force the unwilling king to create new Liberal peers, and that threat did prove decisive in the battle for dominance of Commons over Lords in 1911. The government entered the Second Boer War with great confidence, little expecting that the two small rural Boer republics in southern Africa with

7800-461: The Liberal MPs elected in 1906 were supportive of the " new liberalism ", which advocated government action to improve people's lives. Liberals in 1906–1911 passed major legislation designed to reform politics and society, such as the regulation of working hours, National Insurance and the beginnings of the welfare state, as well as curtailing the power of the House of Lords. Women's suffrage

7930-542: The Liberals, allowing for cross-party support in elections, and the emergence of a small Labour contingent in Parliament. It was a temporary arrangement until the 1920s, when the Labour Party was strong enough to act on its own, and the Liberals were in an irreversible decline. Subtle social changes in the working-class were producing a younger generation that wanted to act independently. Michael Childs argues that

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8060-505: The United States and the United Kingdom, around the start of the 20th century, lounge suits were never traditionally worn in plain black, this colour instead being reserved for formal wear (including dinner jackets or strollers ) and for undertakers . However, the decline of formal wear since the 1950s and the rise of casual wear in 1960s allowed the black suit to return to fashion, as many designers began wanting to move away from

8190-488: The United States, especially in railways. These assets proved vital in paying for supplies in the first years of the World War. Amenities, especially in urban life, were accumulating—prosperity was highly visible. The working classes were beginning to protest politically for a greater voice in government, especially after 1908, reaching a crescendo known as the Great Unrest in 1910-1914. The extreme agitation included

8320-682: The War Office and David Lloyd George at the Board of Trade . Campbell-Bannerman retired in 1908 and was succeeded by Asquith. He stepped up the government's radicalism, especially in the " People's Budget " of 1909 that proposed to fund expanded social welfare programmes with new taxes on land and high incomes. It was blocked by the Conservative-dominated House of Lords , but eventually became law in April 1910. Almost half of

8450-480: The abyss of the Great War . The Edwardian age was also seen as a mediocre period of pleasure between the great achievements of the preceding Victorian age and the catastrophe of the following war. Recent assessments emphasise the great differences between the wealthy and the poor during this period and describe the age as heralding great changes in political and social life. Historian Lawrence James argued that

8580-399: The back of the lapel to hold the flower properly. For symmetry, double breasted suits often have a buttonhole on each lapel. A lapel pin is also sometimes worn. The most common style of lapel, the notched lapel, originated in older types of jackets that buttoned to the neck, by unbuttoning and turning back the upper part of the closure at an angle indoors or in hot weather, and then removing

8710-403: The better-off element of traditional working-class Britons in the larger cities. In rural areas, the national headquarters made highly effective use of paid travelling lecturers, with pamphlets, posters, and especially lantern slides, who were able to communicate effectively with rural voters – particularly the newly enfranchised agricultural workers. In the first years of the twentieth century,

8840-461: The bottom button of a suit as well as waistcoat undone. The reasoning for having only the top buttons and not the bottom button to continue being fastened is to avoid stressing of the fabric and is more comfortable for the wearer. Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It

8970-558: The build-up of its navy from 1898 which led to the Anglo-German naval arms race . British diplomat Arthur Nicolson argued it was "far more disadvantageous to us to have an unfriendly France and Russia than an unfriendly Germany". The impact of the Triple Entente was to improve British relations with France and its ally Russia and to demote the importance to Britain of good relations with Germany. After 1905, foreign policy

9100-424: The business suit toward more fashion suits. Traditional business suits are generally in solid colours or with pinstripes ; windowpane checks are also acceptable. Outside business, the range of acceptable patterns widens, with plaids such as the traditional glen plaid and herringbone, though apart from some very traditional environments such as London banking, these are worn for business now, as well. The colour of

9230-411: 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. There seems to be no clear rule as to on which side the overlap should lie. It usually crosses naturally with the left side to the fore but not invariably. Generally,

9360-465: 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 functional buttonhole (as in a traditional six-on-two arrangement), only one button need be fastened;

9490-492: The decades. In the 1920s, trousers were straight-legged and wide-legged, with a standard width at the cuff of 23 inches (58 cm). After 1935, trousers began to be tapered in at the bottom half of the leg. Trousers remained wide at the top of the leg throughout the 1940s. By the 1950s and 1960s, a more slim look had become popular. In the 1970s, suit makers offered a variety of styles of trousers, including flared, bell bottomed, wide-legged, and more traditional tapered trousers. In

9620-452: The exaggeratedly widened Oxford bags worn in the 1930s in Oxford, which, though themselves short-lived, began a 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

9750-410: The halfway mark between the collar and shoulder line". The lapel on business and sports wear is typically made of the same fabric as the rest of the jacket. On more formal wear it may be made of a contrasting fabric, with satin a popular historic choice. On single-breasted jackets the left lapel typically carries a buttonhole for holding a boutonnière , a decorative flower. A loop is often fixed to

9880-432: The hands of police and sabotage on the part of the workers. The Great Unrest saw an enormous increase in trade union membership, which affected all industries to varying extents. The militants were most active in coal mining, textiles and transportation. Much of the militancy emerged from grassroots protests against falling real wages, with union leadership scrambling to catch up. The new unions of semiskilled workers were

10010-412: 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

10140-651: The incomes of households and increases in town tax revenues helped cause the decline of mortality. The new money permitted higher spending on food, and also on a wide range of health-enhancing goods and services such as medical care. The major improvement in the physical environment was the quality of the housing stock, which rose faster than the population; its quality was increasingly regulated by central and local government. Infant mortality fell faster in England and Wales than in Scotland. Clive Lee argues that one factor

10270-607: The internees died. Emily Hobhouse visited the camps and was appalled at the living conditions, which she brought to the attention of the British public. Public outcry resulted in the Fawcett Commission which corroborated Hobhouse's report and eventually led to improved conditions. The Boers surrendered, and the Boer Republics were annexed by the British Empire. Jan Smuts —a leading Boer general—became

10400-835: The issue, with a large faction strongly opposed to the war in Africa. The Triple Entente between Britain, France and Russia is often compared to the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria–Hungary and Italy, but historians caution against the comparison. The Entente, in contrast to the Triple Alliance or the Franco-Russian Alliance , was not an alliance of mutual defence, and Britain therefore felt free to make her own foreign policy decisions in 1914. The Liberals were highly moralistic, and by 1914 they were increasingly convinced that German aggression violated international norms, and specifically that its invasion of neutral Belgium

10530-468: The item to the wearer, trusting the eye over unyielding scripted approach), drawing and cutting inaccuracies are overcome by the fitting. Suits are made in a variety of fabrics, but most commonly from wool, silk or cotton. The two main yarns produce worsteds (where the fibres are combed before spinning to produce a smooth, hard wearing cloth) and woollens (where they are not combed, thus remaining comparatively fluffy in texture). These can be woven in

10660-435: The jacket is cut such that buttoning the bottom button would ruin the lines and drape of the jacket. It is customary to keep the jacket buttoned while standing and to unbutton the jacket while seated. 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

10790-408: The jacket's edges after some use or a few dry cleanings. However, some selling this type of jacket claim that the difference in quality is very small. A few London tailors state that all bespoke suits should use a floating canvas. Most single-breasted suits have two or three buttons, and four or more buttons are unusual. Dinner jackets ("black tie") usually have only one button. It is rare to find

10920-412: 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 practicality, 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

11050-420: The knee, but riding breeches, worn with long boots such as top boots , are long enough to meet the boot and display no sock. Accessories for suits include neckties , shoes , wristwatches and pocket watches , pocket squares , cufflinks , tie clips , tie tacks, tie bars, bow ties , lapel pins , and hats . The buttoning of the jacket is primarily determined by the button stance , a measure of how high

11180-407: 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 or golf . 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

11310-431: The labour movement. The middle-class business, professional and intellectual communities were generally strongholds, although some old aristocratic families played important roles as well. The working-class element was moving rapidly toward the newly emerging Labour Party . One unifying element was widespread agreement on the use of politics and Parliament as a means to upgrade and improve society and to reform politics. In

11440-477: The late Victorian era , all frock coats had a long row of button holes on the lapel, long since obsolete. As buttoning styles changed, the loosely folded front of the coat correspondingly shifted shape, and the V then formed by the meeting of the fold and the collar continues now in the traditional shape of notched and peaked lapels, both of which originate from that period. Once double breasted frock coats were established, lapels were sharply creased and their form

11570-646: The leaders felt increasingly threatened by rival powers such as Germany, Russia, and the United States. Nevertheless, the sudden arrival of World War I in the summer of 1914 was largely unexpected, except by the Royal Navy, because it had been prepared and readied for war . There was a growing political awareness among the working class, leading to a rise in trade unions, the Labour movement and demands for better working conditions. The aristocracy remained in control of top government offices. The Conservatives – at

11700-607: The machine-made lace and finishing trade. It was later expanded to coal mining and then to other industries with preponderance of unskilled manual labour by the Trade Boards Act 1918 . Under the leadership of David Lloyd George Liberals extended minimum wages to farm workers. Conservative peers in the House of Lords tried to stop the People's Budget . The Liberals passed the Parliament Act 1911 to sharply reduce

11830-410: 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. They have always been an informal option, being inappropriate on all formalwear. Other variations in trouser style include the rise of the trouser. This

11960-512: The most militant. The National Sailors' and Firemen's Union directed strike activities in many port cities across Britain. The national leadership was strongly supported by local leaders, for example the Glasgow Trades Council. In Glasgow and other major cities there were distinctive local variations. Glasgow was more unified and coherent than most centres. The long-term result was seen in the strength of waterfront organisation on

12090-516: The new technology to upgrade their lifestyle and their career opportunities. Mortality declined steadily in urban England and Wales 1870–1917. Robert Millward and Frances N. Bell looked statistically at those factors in the physical environment (especially population density and overcrowding) that raised death rates directly, as well as indirect factors such as price and income movements that affected expenditures on sewers, water supplies, food, and medical staff. The statistical data show that increases in

12220-490: The older generation of Liberal voters. The Liberal Party lacked a unified ideological base in 1906. It contained numerous contradictory and hostile factions, such as imperialists and supporters of the Boers; near-socialists and laissez-faire classical liberals ; suffragettes and opponents of women's suffrage; antiwar elements and supporters of the military alliance with France. Nonconformist Dissenters – Protestants outside

12350-490: 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 the US, while they continue to be worn as traditional 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 sturdy interfacing fabric to prevent

12480-524: The policy of holding aloof from the continental powers, so called " Splendid Isolation ", in the 1900s after being isolated during the Boer War . Britain concluded agreements, limited to colonial affairs, with her two major colonial rivals: the Entente Cordiale with France in 1904 and the Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907. Britain's alignment was a reaction to an assertive German foreign policy and

12610-528: The power of the House of Lords to block legislation. The cost was high, however, as the government was required by the King to call two general elections in 1910 to validate its position and ended up frittering away most of its large majority, with the balance of power held by Labour and Irish Parliamentary Party members. Germany's Chancellor Otto von Bismarck dominated European diplomacy from 1872 to 1890, with

12740-450: The procedure was used not only as a means of terminating pregnancy, but also to prevent poverty and unemployment. Those who transported contraceptives could be legally punished. Contraceptives became more expensive over time and had a high failure rate. Unlike contraceptives, abortion did not need any prior planning and was less expensive. Newspaper advertisements were used to promote and sell abortifacients indirectly. Not all of society

12870-543: The rapid expansion of the school system, and the emergence of the new profession of nursing. Education and status led to demands for female roles in the rapidly expanding world of sports. Women were very active in church affairs, including attendance at services, Sunday school teaching, fund raising, pastoral care, social work and support for international missionary activities. They were almost completely excluded from practically all leadership roles. As middle-class women rose in status, they increasingly supported demands for

13000-409: The situation in which it was to be used. It is also commonly used on mess jackets . A Teba jacket sports a form of notch-less lapel that features an angular turn. The width of the lapel is a widely varying aspect of suits, and has changed widely over the years. Some designers maintain however that most stylish lapel width does not change, and that the lapel "should extend to just a fraction less than

13130-405: The sleeve length essentially cannot be altered further. 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. A vent is a slit in the bottom rear (the "tail") of

13260-464: The source of wealth. The law restricted relief for unemployed, able-bodied male workers, due to the prevailing view that they would find work in the absence of financial assistance. However, women were treated differently. After the Poor Law was passed, women and children received most of the aid. The law did not recognise single independent women, and put women and children into the same category. If

13390-447: The standard two outer pockets and breast pocket, some suits have a fourth, 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

13520-480: The suit; a very casual summer sports jacket might 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

13650-697: The time called "Unionists" – were the dominant political party from the 1890s until 1906 . The party had many strengths, appealing to voters supportive of imperialism , tariffs, the Church of England , a powerful Royal Navy , and traditional hierarchical society. There was a powerful leadership base in the landed aristocracy and landed gentry in rural England, plus strong support from the Church of England and military interests. Historians have used election returns to demonstrate that Conservatives did surprisingly well in working-class districts. They had an appeal as well to

13780-483: The top tier of the working-class and lower middle-class, and there was dissatisfaction among intellectuals. The 1906 general election was a landslide victory for the Liberal Party, which saw its total vote share increase by 25%, while the Conservative total vote held steady. The Labour Party was emerging from the rapidly growing trade union movement after 1890. In 1903 it entered the Gladstone–MacDonald pact with

13910-559: The transformation of lapels into "fetishes" as part and parcel of fashion as expression. Though less common among men's suits in the west, other jacket styles feature no lapels. Jackets with mandarin collars , also called stand collars, band collars, or choker collars, include Nehru jackets and various military dress uniforms, such as the British Army and US Marine Corps . Turndown collars , also called Prussian collars and ghillie collars, were once common on military uniforms and on

14040-445: The trousers take a belt or braces (suspenders). While a belt was originally never worn with a suit, the forced wearing of belts during wartime years (caused by restrictions on use of elastic caused by wartime shortages) 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 by

14170-464: The upper buttons. The upper points are derived from the end corners of the collar. This can be duplicated by similarly turning back the closure in a modern button-to-the-neck garment such as an overcoat or a boilersuit . Sometimes when caught outside in bad weather in a lapelled jacket and nothing over it, its wearer may unfold the lapels and hold them that way to temporarily reproduce the ancestral to-the-neck closure. As tailcoats evolved rapidly among

14300-465: The wealthy during the Regency period , various styles of closure saw popularity, from fastenings at the top, the middle, or even hanging open. The turn-down collar popular on earlier garments like the frock was succeeded by long lapels folded down to below the waist (fashionably tightly nipped in). Invariably, there were long rows of buttons down the front, most of which did not fasten; in fact even into

14430-412: The wearer may elect to fasten only the bottom button, in order to present a longer line (a style popularised by Prince George, Duke of Kent ). Single-breasted suit coats may be either fastened or unfastened. In two-button suits the bottom button is traditionally left unfastened except with certain unusual cuts of jacket, e.g. the paddock. Legend has it that King Edward VII started the trend of leaving

14560-484: The wool from stretching out of shape; this layer of cloth is called the canvas after the fabric from which it was traditionally made. 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, particularly since they may tend to permanently pucker along

14690-527: The world is characterised by strongly tapered sides and minimal shoulder, whereas rack suits are often padded to reduce labour . More casual suits are characterised by less construction and tailoring, much like the sack suit , a loose American style. There are three ways to buy suits: The acid test of authentic tailoring standards is the wrinkle that comes from poor tailoring. Rumples can be pressed out. For interim fittings, "Rock Of Eye" (which means trained freehand based on an experienced artistic eye to match

14820-441: The younger generation had reason to prefer Labour over Liberal political styles. Social factors included secularised elementary education (with a disappearing role for Dissenting schools that inculcated Liberal viewpoints); the "New Unionism" after 1890 brought unskilled workers into a movement previously dominated by the skilled workers; and new leisure activities, especially the music hall and sports, involved youth while repelling

14950-462: Was a majority of support for suffrage in Parliament, the ruling Liberal Party refused to allow a vote on the issue; the result of which was an escalation in the suffragette campaign. The WSPU, in dramatic contrast to its allies, embarked on a campaign of violence to publicise the issue, even to the detriment of its own aims. Although abortion was illegal, it was nevertheless a widespread form of birth control. Used predominantly by working-class women,

15080-458: Was accepting of contraceptives or abortion, and opponents viewed both as part of one and the same sin. Abortion was much more common among the middle classes than among those living in rural areas, where the procedure was not readily available. Women were often tricked into purchasing ineffective pills. In addition to fearing legal reprimands, many physicians did not condone abortion because they viewed it as an immoral procedure potentially endangering

15210-645: Was awakening after a generation of dormancy following the Franco-Prussian War , to the East sat Russia, whose rapid industrialization worried Berlin and Vienna. Joseph Chamberlain , who played a major role in foreign policy in the late 1890s under the Salisbury government, repeatedly tried to open talks with Germany about some sort of alliance. Berlin was not interested. Meanwhile, Paris went to great pains to woo Russia and Great Britain. Key markers were

15340-506: Was completely unacceptable in terms of morality, of Britain and Germany's obligations under the Treaty of London , and of British policy against any one power controlling the continent of Europe. Until the last few weeks before it started in August 1914, almost no one saw a world war coming. The expectation among the generals was that because of industrial advances any future war would produce

15470-561: Was largely in charge of the war, maintained his hold on power. When General Kitchener took command in 1900, he initiated a scorched earth policy to foil Boer guerrilla tactics. Captured Boer combatants were transported overseas to other British possessions as prisoners of war. However, he relocated non-combatant Boers—mostly women and children—into heavily guarded internment camps. The internment camps were overcrowded with bad sanitation and meagre food rations. Contagious diseases such as measles, typhoid and dysentery were endemic. Many of

15600-454: Was losing its drive and enthusiasm, especially after the retirement of the charismatic Joseph Chamberlain . There was a bitter split on "tariff reform" (that is, imposing tariffs or taxes on all imports), that drove many of the free traders over to the Liberal camp. Tariff reform was a losing issue that the Conservative leadership inexplicably clung to. Conservative support weakened among

15730-516: Was more static, varying only in details such as height, since they were buttoned nearly to the neck by the Edwardians , then lengthened to the classic three-button shape, the two-button jacket being a further American innovation. The other significant change over that period was the use of the revers in the construction of the lapel, as the Victorians used elaborate three-part patterns to cut

15860-489: Was not on the Liberal agenda. There were numerous major reforms helping labour, typified by the Trade Boards Act 1909 that set minimum wages in certain trades with the history of "sweated" or "sweatshop" rates of especially low wages, because of surplus of available workers, the presence of women workers, or the lack of skills. At first it applied to four industries: chain-making, ready-made tailoring, paper-box making, and

15990-401: Was originally designed to make the pockets easier to open on horseback while hacking . Suit jackets in all styles typically have three or four buttons on each cuff, which are often purely decorative (the sleeve is usually sewn closed and cannot be unbuttoned to open). Five buttons are unusual and are a modern fashion innovation. The number of buttons is primarily a function of the formality of

16120-470: Was seized by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). Founded in 1903, it was tightly controlled by the three Pankhursts, Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928), and her daughters Christabel Pankhurst (1880–1958) and Sylvia Pankhurst (1882–1960). It specialised in highly visible publicity campaigns such as large parades. This had the effect of energising all dimensions of the suffrage movement. While there

16250-493: Was slow to adjust to global changes, and there was a striking preference for leisure over entrepreneurship among the elite. However, London was the financial centre of the world—far more efficient and wide-ranging than New York, Paris or Berlin. Britain had built up a vast reserve of overseas credits in its formal Empire, as well as in an informal empire in Latin America and other nations. It had huge financial holdings in

16380-420: Was sustained as an important aid for women negotiating wider social shifts and tensions in their lives." Increased literacy in the middle class gave women wider access to information and ideas. Numerous new magazines appealed to their tastes and helped define femininity. The inventions of the typewriter, telephone, and new filing systems offered middle-class women increased employment opportunities. So too did

16510-485: Was the continued overcrowding in Scotland's housing. During the First World War, infant mortality fell sharply across the country. J. M. Winter attributes this to the full employment and higher wages paid to war workers. For housewives, sewing machines enabled the production of ready-made clothing and made it easier for women to sew their own clothes; more generally, argues Barbara Burman, "home dressmaking

16640-535: Was the first prime minister. The Liberal Party under Henry Campbell-Bannerman rallied Liberals around the traditional platform of free trade and land reform and led them to the greatest electoral victory in Liberal Party history. The Prime Minister was overshadowed by his frontbench, most notably H. H. Asquith at the Exchequer, Edward Grey at the Foreign Office, Richard Burdon Haldane at

16770-567: Was tightly controlled by the Liberal Foreign Secretary Edward Grey (1862–1933), who seldom consulted with his party leadership. Grey shared the strong Liberal policy against all wars and against military alliances that would force Britain to take a side in war. However, in the case of the Boer War, Grey held that the Boers had committed an aggression that it was necessary to repulse. The Liberal party split on

16900-485: Was very high in the early half of the 20th 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 to have waistbands resting on

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