Men1

Menswear History Timeline

By jlambe1
  • 1920's

    1920's
    The essential part of a 1920s man’s wardrobe was his suit. For day, evening, work, or parties, a man always wore a suit. The only exceptions were for blue-collar workers, sport players or young teen and college men who dressed more casually, but even they owned second-hand and often mismatched suits and wore them with pride.
  • 1930's

    1930's
    Suits during the early 1930s were close cut to use less fabric. The Great Depression started a conservative fashion climate. Extravagant colors were in bad taste; somber hues like gray, brown, beige or light blue were more acceptable. Later in the decade jackets with heavily padded shoulders and fuller sleeves were popular (this was when the economy was better). Businessmen wore tapered trousers, whereas younger men wore flowing trousers with long coats. Also hats were very popular.
  • 1940's

    1940's
    The 1940s men’s fashion was more towards style and every man wanted to look stylish and classy. The business suits were in fashion as before, they were mostly black, gray, or brown. Men looked unique and elegant in their baggy pants. Some other things that became popular were: suit trousers, waistcoats, and belts.
  • 1950's

    1950's
    The 1950s were a fairly prosperous era, which allowed for leisure time, which necessitated leisure wear. Many leisure shirts were cowboy-inspired. Hawaiian print shirts were popular; nation's fascination with the culture of its newest state. Polo shirts also became increasingly popular. Jeans, were still considered an item of clothing only appropriate for outdoor work. Slacks, instead, were the leisure pant of choice. Collared shirts were the norm since tshirts were still not appropriate.
  • 1960's

    1960's
    Ties, belts and lapels got wider, collars got longer and wider and a modified version of the bell bottom called “flared” became popular. The conservative men’s suit took on some geometric design along with the flare in the pants leg and wider lapels. Sport shirts were the norm for causal wear with the polo style being the most popular.