How Suits Have Changed Over Time| Pascalis Bespoke Tailoring

How Suits Have Changed Over Time

Michael Pascalis • March 9, 2022

A well-made suit is an important component of men’s formal wear. Whether you are attending a wedding, job interview, business meeting, or any other formal occasion, it is custom for a man to wear a well-designed suit. Suits typically consist of trousers with a matching jacket and necktie. However, the traditional suit has evolved over the years, and the suits you see today differ from those made in the past.

The 19th Century

Although historians deem that suits have been around in the United Kingdom (UK) since the 17th century, it was not until the 19th century that the modern lounge suit appeared. It was George Bryan “Beau” Brummel, a friend of King George IV who established the suit style. This began the trend where European men would wear tailored, high-quality suits with neckties. These suits were tight fitting and usually featured a dark frock coat with light, non-matching trousers – quite different to the suits you generally see today.

The 20th Century

The 20th Century is when the suit began to evolve. Men were no longer wearing frock coats, instead they would wear morning coats with their suits. A morning coat is a formal suit coat this is distinguished by the cutaway in the back. From the back of a morning coat, you will see the left and right sides of the fabric are split from each other. Due to this unique stylish feature, many men in the UK and elsewhere started to wear a morning coat with their suits instead of the traditional frock coat.

The Short-Coated Lounge Suit

Following the end of the first World War saw further changes to suits. One significant change was a rising popularity and demand for short jacket suits. Also identified as the short-coated lounge suit, it became very popular around the 1920s, and has remained in fashion to this day.

The Modernisation of Suits

In the 1940s and 1950s suit styles began to modernise. The style slowly developed to the kind of suits we see sold and worn today. Lapels begun to shrink, men started wearing single-breasted jackets, and the jackets were designed straight to conceal the waistline. One of the main reasons for these changes was due to the lack of resources as many countries were engaged in World War II. Thus, rather than using fabrics and resources to make suits, they were being used to create military uniforms and other items.

The Modern-day Suit

Not only has the style of the suit evolved throughout history, but the fabrics used to make men’s suits has also changed. Originally, most suits were made of cotton, linen, or other similar textiles. Suits are still currently manufactured and sold in these fabrics, however there are now more options to choose from. Popular suit textiles now include tweed, linen, cotton, wool, corduroy, and velvet.

Additionally, suit colours have also changed over the years. The most popular suit colour being black, however, men’s suits are available in countless of other colours, including brown, grey, navy, white and more.

Bespoke Tailored and Made to Measure Suits

At Pascalis Bespoke Tailoring we are dedicated to keeping to tradition of suits alive. We are committed to creating timeless bespoke tailored and made to measure suits for our clients, that when looked after will last a lifetime.

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Why Good Tailoring Beats Shorts In The Summer Heat

By Michael Pascalis • October 24, 2025

Smarter tailoring, breathable fabrics, and better cuts keep you cool and professional—without resorting to shorts at work.

Eight Things to Consider for Your Summer Suit

October 22, 2025

The conversation about summer dressing too often circles back to gimmicks. Shorts in the office, polo shirts in the boardroom, but these are symptoms of a deeper problem: we have forgotten how to make and wear proper clothing for the climate we live in. A summer suit, chosen with care, remains the most elegant answer. But not all suits are created equal. If the heat leaves you dreaming of linen drawstrings, it’s not the suit’s fault. It’s the wrong suit. Here are eight considerations that turn summer tailoring from punishment into pleasure. 1. Fabric First The single most important decision is fabric. Natural fibres are non-negotiable. Polyester and other synthetics trap heat and suffocate the skin; they are cheap in every sense of the word. Tropical wool, with its fine yarn and open weave, has been the quiet hero of summer tailoring for decades. Linen, either pure or in a wool blend, brings unmatched breathability and texture. Cotton offers a crisp alternative for the more casual office. The principle is simple: fabric should breathe. 2. Lightness of Weave Weight is not enough; weave matters too. A dense cloth, no matter how fine, will feel like armour in January. Fresco, hopsack, and other open-weave constructions let air circulate without sacrificing drape. They prove that you don’t need to bare skin to keep cool. 3. The Case for Unlined Jackets Every layer in a suit traps heat. A fully lined jacket in the peak of summer is as unnecessary as it is uncomfortable. Half-lined or unlined jackets offer structure without insulation. Stripped back to its essentials, the jacket still frames the shoulders, flatters the waist, and gives shape, only now it does so without suffocating the wearer. 4. Rethinking Fit The tyranny of the skinny suit has done more to ruin summer dressing than the thermometer ever could. Narrow lapels, shrunken jackets, and trousers cut like leggings may look sharp in shop windows, but in the real world they cling, sweat, and stifle. A summer suit demands room to breathe: a touch more fullness in the chest, pleats in the trousers, a slightly longer rise. These small concessions to airflow make all the difference. 5. Freedom of Movement Tailoring was never meant to be restrictive. The best summer suits allow ease: side vents that open as you walk, trousers that fall cleanly without gripping the thigh, shoulders that move without resistance. Comfort is not the enemy of style, but rather it is its foundation. 6. The Role of Colour Summer is no time for charcoal and midnight navy. Dark cloth absorbs heat and looks heavy against the season’s light. Pale grey, beige, sky blue are shades that reflect the sun and signal ease. Seersucker, with its puckered surface, even lifts the fabric off the skin to create tiny channels of air. If ever there was a fabric designed for August, this is it. 7. Care and Longevity Summer is unforgiving. Suits face sweat, humidity, and relentless sun. The careless solution is cheap rotation: buy more, wear them out, throw them away. The wiser approach is investment. A well-made summer suit, rested between wears and hung to air, will last for years. Quality not only looks better, it endures. 8. Dressing with Intent The final consideration is not technical but philosophical. A summer suit is more than cloth and cut. It is a statement that professionalism need not wilt in the heat, that respect for the occasion is not seasonal. To wear one well is to prove that elegance adapts. Shorts may make headlines; tailoring makes an impression. There is nothing radical about suggesting that a summer suit can be cool, comfortable, and dignified. It has always been possible. The knowledge is there, in the choice of fabric, the looseness of cut, the restraint of lining, the play of colour. What is required is not reinvention but remembrance: a return to tailoring that understands climate rather than fights it. Eight considerations for made to measure suits for summer, then, but really one principle: good clothes work with the body, not against it. And in the heart of summer, a well-made suit is not a contradiction. It is liberation.