Leisure suit

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Examples of the leisure suit based on the safari jacket in 1976

A leisure suit is a

fads
of the 1970s.

History

Leisure Suit Convention in 1993
A man wearing a "Hawaiian" leisure suit in 2007

Leisure suits originated on the west coast of the US in the late 1930s as summer casual-wear for the wealthy,

Elvis.[7]

Suits as casual wear became popular among members of Britain's mod subculture in the 1960s, but only achieved widespread popularity in the United States when—with the creation and popularization of synthetic materials—unprecedented inexpensive prices met with a culture that had come to hate formality. They are frequently associated with that era's disco culture.[8] Leisure suits gained popularity by offering a fashionable, inexpensive suit which could conceivably be used in formal business, yet was casual enough to be worn out of the workplace setting.[9] The leisure suit height of popularity was around the mid to late 1970s, but fell from fashion in the very early 1980s. Today it is commonly considered emblematic of 1970s American kitsch.[10]

The leisure suit became associated in popular culture with

gangsterism, and conversely, with clueless dressing—the adventure game series Leisure Suit Larry being an example.[11]

Today

Leisure suits are still being offered and worn today, although not in the form of

British mod than American disco. Also, progress since the 1970s with respect to the technology of synthetic fabrics such as polyester
has resulted in the creation of new textures.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Leisure suit", Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
  2. ^ "What is a Leisure Suit?". WiseGEEK. 25 December 2023.
  3. ^ Early leisure suit or "Hollywood jacket" Archived 2012-03-30 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "1930s American Fashion".
  5. ISBN 0-87905-591-X
    .
  6. ^ "Nudie, The Man Who Set Rhinestones in Fashion History." Nudie's Rodeo Tailor Web site Archived 2011-08-23 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
  7. ISBN 978-1-58685-381-5
    . Retrieved 2010-08-26.
  8. ^ Linda Welters, Patricia A. Cunningham (ed.), Twentieth-Century American Fashion, Bloomsbury Academic, 2005.
  9. ^ "Collectible 70s".
  10. ^ June 2004 Pic of the Month Archived 2006-06-22 at the Wayback Machine at The Henry Ford museum
  11. ^ Isbister, Katherine (June 14, 2006). Better Game Characters by Design: A Psychological Approach. Taylor & Francis – via Google Books.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leisure suit.
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