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Pant suits as we see now are a widely spread fashion staple for men and women who work and in general. It’s a set of tailored pants with a matching blazer that is perfect for formal nowadays. The question is, how did the pant suit become what it is today? Its evolution would’ve been quite dramatic considering how women before World War 2 mostly used to dress in skirts and dresses. That is what our idea of discussion would be today, The Evolution of the Pant Suit as a Fashion Staple, how did it become what it is today?
From what the world knows, a pant suit is a symbol of professionalism, worn at work as a formal dress code, and portrays a powerful vibe. But does the world know how much of an outcast it was before World War 2? Especially among women. Yes, a woman even got arrested for wearing pants to testify in court. Women usually wore skirts and dresses before as we discussed. Well, today let’s head back in time a little and see for ourselves the struggle to make pant suit a fashion staple for men and women, their evolution isn’t less than a drama itself.
The Evolution of the Pant Suit
Delve in to get to know the story and history behind how the paint suit finally got incorporated as a fashion staple in the fashion industry.
Early 20th Century
During the early 20th century, a woman’s dominance was characterized by wearing skirts and dresses while a man’s wearing suits. Suits for women were unconventional as society wanted women to dress more traditionally, rather than adhering to suits that society found more masculine. Suits for men were considered standard attire, formal attire that represented conservatism. So we could say that suits for women during this time didn’t exist, unless getting arrested was a priority.
1920s-1940s
During this period, the trousers started taking a hit in the fashion industry with other liberated silhouettes, all because of the movements taking place during this time. With the rise in women's rights as well as the suffragette movement, women’s fashion started getting quite acceptable in the fashion industry. Coco Chanel; had also introduced their first pants this time around which made quite a significant impact in the whole evolution of the pant suits as a fashion staple now. Can’t forget to mention how Marlene Dietrich brought up challenging styles to prove how women could exude elegance in trousers as well. As for men, the suits remained in fashion like before, even a few variations in cuts and styles took place. The ‘zoot suit’ made an appearance.
1950s-1960s
Post World War 2, fashion took a dramatic turn and departure took place from the wartime austerity in terms of it-Fashion. Pants and blouses were incorporated and became quite popular. Designers like Coco Chanel played a huge part in incorporating pants into women's wardrobe and challenged a lot of controversies regarding women's formal wear at that time. This time laid out a whole new shift towards an industry of women's fashion. As for men, a youthful aesthetic took place that incorporated slim-fitted suits. This time ensured a step towards a more individualistic side of men's fashion, considering how the approach was quite rigid before.
1970s
Yet again, another era of success in incorporating more and more suits in women's fashion. The feminist women at this time had a huge impact on women's fashion and suits were getting more and more in as women started heading towards the professional world. One of the pieces that promoted this idea with all heart and soul was Yves Saint Laurent. This brand introduced ‘Le Smoking’ in 1966, a tuxedo-styled pant suit. This piece led towards this idea in the 1970s with more power and challenged many notions. As for men, even though new trends with colors approached this era, suits remained the good old symbol of elegance. The 1970s brought out classic tailoring and styles that showed us a worth-it era of men’s fashion.
1980s-1990s
This era was an empowering era for women in the professional field. As well as that was going, suits started coming in different styles and designs, different patterns, and broad shoulders, creating a powerful and professional appearance and leaving a good impression. The 1980s-1990s, was nonetheless an era of confidence, the time for women to confidently step into the professional world and challenge societal norms. For men, this era had continued with the power suits, but, other worth applauding styles stepped in. Bold patterns, wide lapels, and double-breasted styles came out in vogue and we believe that people were grateful that they made an entry into the world of suits.
2000s-2010s
During this era, a lot came in and was exciting to look at. Designers like Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo went with clean designs and modern tailoring in the early 2000s. Whereas, during the mid-2000s, the red carpet was full of women showcasing various paintsuit styles that weren’t normal before-through what we studied in this blog. Well, we could this now ‘fashion staple’ was evolving well. Now, in the late 2000s-2010s, vintage styles came in and the retro was influencing the pant suit design in abundance. Also during this time, you must know that pant suit started becoming a fashion statement beyond the workplace and celebrities helped with promoting that thought. As for men's suits, the switch from slimmer to slimmer fits and classic styles took place. Although during this era, opting was a more relaxed professional also came to light, casualization of the workplace was allowing that. Another one, the metrosexual trend that peeked through this time around, brought more and more patterns and color in pant suits as a fashion staple. Customization and personalization were not key aspects of men's formal wear.
2020s Onwards
From the 2020s onwards, pant suit have settled in women's as well as men's fashion. It still served as the symbol of empowerment for women. This time around, the environmental concerns, allowed sustainable and ethically produced suits to gain popularity. As the years went on and it came to the time around, technology had to play a role in one way or another as it is something that had evolved a lot too, well, it had urged many small and independent designers to gain visibility, which in return allowed us to have an array of pant suit designs now. For men's suits as a fashion staple, the designs started becoming more and more traditional. Celebrities played a huge role in diversifying men’s pant suit as a fashion staple. Customization came at peak here too, so that men could put their styles out there.
Conclusion
This timeline now tells us how pant suits evolved as a fashion staple and to be very honest, I’m here for this journey, pant suits went through a lot. Knowing how many phases it went through to finally become what it is, is truly a piece of art itself- the journey. We’re glad that it is here as a fashion staple now and that’s the best thing ever!
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