# Which of history’s fashions would you choose, if you could adopt any style? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 2, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312 "2025-12-02T00:18:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/1 "2025-12-02T00:18:48Z")
If you could dress like any historical era, without any social opprobrium, which would you choose? I’m a fan of a nice suit; wearing a well tailored silk suit is like wearing pajamas. And I appreciate the sartorial flair of men like Al Capone. So America in the roaring twenties would be fine by me. But I also have a soft spot for the breeches/silk stocking look from revolutionary America. And you can’t go wrong with a Roman Toga. I suppose you could decide you want to wear chainmail. Or maybe you’d rather rock a Sioux headdress circa 1850. Whats your preferred fashion era? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/2 "2025-12-02T00:23:14Z")
I’m not sure if this was ever actually historical, but your stereotypical “monk’s tunic” (think Jedi robes) looks incredibly comfortable: [![](https://fightingignorance.org/bb4a724f-05a9-443a-8554-1d386f9630da-medieval-monk-tunic-google-search-december-01-04-20-48-pm-2x.jpg) ](https://fightingignorance.org/bb4a724f-05a9-443a-8554-1d386f9630da-medieval-monk-tunic-google-search-december-01-04-20-48-pm-2x.jpg) I’d love to wear something like that, or maybe a [gambeson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambeson) — like a medieval puffy jacket: [![](https://fightingignorance.org/9411d565-46d4-4dd5-a089-5a1c9b1e5ada-quilted-gambeson-google-search-december-01-04-23-09-pm-2x.jpg) ](https://fightingignorance.org/9411d565-46d4-4dd5-a089-5a1c9b1e5ada-quilted-gambeson-google-search-december-01-04-23-09-pm-2x.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/3 "2025-12-02T00:24:04Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > So America in the roaring twenties would be fine by me. Works for me, at least in cool weather or overly aggressive air conditioning. I would definitely prefer an era where men dressed to impress. As ZZ Top had it > 'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/4 "2025-12-02T00:28:41Z")
Kimonos look cool, but they are probably too fussy to actually wear regularly. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/5 "2025-12-02T00:34:03Z")
Something with a codpiece. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/6 "2025-12-02T01:39:06Z")
The 60s, where I did wear hippie clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/7 "2025-12-02T01:56:48Z")
Whichever era it was that really had the Cary Grant attire, although I think a suit or tuxedo every day is excessive. Maybe the Hardy Boys era or whatever that attire era was called. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/8 "2025-12-02T01:59:12Z")
The dashiki is timeless, right? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/9 "2025-12-02T03:35:53Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Kimonos look cool, but they are probably too fussy to actually wear regularly. And yet people did for hundreds of years, even people without servants to help them. Of course if you’re very poor you’re only wearing cotton, very serviceable and easy to clean. If I didn’t have to wear the authentic underwear, I would be happy to wear men’s kimono or yukata (cotton ones for summer). I actually had a yukata custom made for me back in 1981, but I was very skinny then, and although I still have it, I’ll probably never be able to wear it again. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/10 "2025-12-02T03:52:36Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I’m a fan of a nice suit; wearing a well tailored silk suit is like wearing pajamas. And I appreciate the sartorial flair of men like Al Capone. Or better- Archie Goodwin (in the A&E series), since he had class and Capone didnt. > [@Moriarty](#): > > And you can’t go wrong with a Roman Toga. If you have actually tried to wear one- yes, you most definitely can. Myself- yes, classy lightweight wool suits, ties, and a fedora. Or a t-tunic and a cloak. Cloaks are great, I have several. they leave your arms free, or your arms can go under and stay warm. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/11 "2025-12-02T04:08:29Z")
Late 18th, early 19th English gentlemen style. Wigs are pretty much done, and the clothes themselves just look so cool. ---
**Author:** ![Sooner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sooner/32/7875_2.png) [@Sooner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sooner)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/12 "2025-12-02T04:26:06Z")
As a male, I would start with fine mid 60’s suits; second choice - early 80’s preppy (I have a closet full of Oxford shirts, and heavy rugby shirts to this day). Remember- ‘without any social opprobrium’ ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/13 "2025-12-02T04:32:01Z")
As a man I am very happy to be living in a culture that has absolutely zero fashion expectations from men beyond “ideally ensure your nether regions are covered”. Suits, ties, shirts, codpieces, togas, ruffs, etc? That all seems like hard work 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/14 "2025-12-02T04:33:28Z")
Victorian England dress, from early to late depending on area - open coats or frock coats with vests, more-or-less modern trousers, no wigs. So very similar to @Northern_Piper’s choice, but maybe on the earlier side of their range. This also has a good bit of overlap with some of the fashions you’d see on well-dressed men during America’s western expansion. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/15 "2025-12-02T04:37:35Z")
Late 1970s/early 1980s. Bright, cool, lightweight nylon synthetic fabrics in not-tight fits. Like the stuff in my closet from my college days, except they’re now tight fitting. There was a show on PBS long ago about an modern ordinary family agreeing to live in London as in Victorian days. They wore period appropriate stuff like lace-up bustles and wool overcoats. The line that was really memorable when they returned to “modern times” was how lightweight the clothes were, easier to breath and move about in. So I’m going for comfort over anything else. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/16 "2025-12-02T04:37:53Z")
Huh, actually, i have a yukata that a friend brought home from Japan and gave to me. I’m about the size the average Japanese man was 20 years ago, so an off-the-shelf one for fine. I wear it as a bathroom, and it’s very comfortable. It has big sleeves that can be used as pockets, too. ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/17 "2025-12-02T04:57:10Z")
puzzlegal : “I wear it as a bathroom”…yes, I think I like that idea! I’ve been wearing beach clothes since 1971 in Southern Cal. Spring and summer trunks and t-shirts, fall and winter in so cal, just add layers over them. Never know when you might have to go for a swim or surf. In more recent years, just dressed by Costco items . 😎 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/18 "2025-12-02T05:16:16Z")
Typo for bathrobe, of course. In cool weather, I’m pretty happy with jeans. But i could wear something like that in warm weather. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/19 "2025-12-02T05:29:55Z")
Me, I’d go with Regency all the way. > [@Moriarty](#): > > And you can’t go wrong with a Roman Toga. Real togas were many meters heavy wool. [Not even the Romans wore them unless they had to](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toga): > However, even among Romans, it was hard to put on, uncomfortable and challenging to wear correctly, and never truly popular. When circumstances allowed, those otherwise entitled or obliged to wear it opted for more comfortable, casual garments. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2025, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312/20 "2025-12-02T05:39:13Z")
Tough call for women/female-identifying clothes wearers. The most sartorially impressive female clothing, confined to economic elites, has usually also been the most cumbersome and impractical. Because dressing impractically is one of the ways to show off how economically elite you are, obvs. I think to maximize both luxury and comfort, I’d go for some of the 1920s styles in western fashion. You get fine materials and opulent embellishment, combined with less restrictive garment styles and lighter underwear. The straight silhouettes are not particularly flattering on most people, though. Alternative: The “Turkish trousers” or various salwar-kameez type outfits worn by women in a lot of medieval to modern West, Central and South Asian cultures. Great fabrics, super comfortable cuts, more flattering shapes than your ‘20s sack dress. Indian sari/choli is in my view the single most beautiful and elegant style of female dress known in human history, and not far behind the leaders in wearability/convenience once you know how, but a floor-length undivided skirt is always going to lose convenience points. If luxury’s off the table, then various working-class women’s garb from any number of cultures will do. Extra points for including some form of comfortable, secure and becoming hair restraint/head covering. Sample candidates: Early modern European “peasant costumes” of smocked white blouse/shift, jumps/vest, above-ankle petticoat and skirt with colorful apron, gartered stockings, flat shoes, head cap. Modern pants or leggings with top and jacket or vest is almost as good, but usually not such a cute shape, and no conventional hair restraint unless you do baseball caps. Rosie-the-Riveter style boiler suits or shirt and overalls with headscarf and flat boots is utilitarian but perky, I would happily wear that to work every day. Needs some kind of crotch accommodation for toilet use tho plz. I have never worn a traditional East or Southeast Asian workwoman’s jacket-and-trousers with headwrap and sandals or slippers combo, but they look very wearable and practical. More drab on average than European peasant counterparts tho? Or was that just the Communist versions? Bring on the sashiko and patchwork and tambour embroidery thx. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-history-s-fashions-would-you-choose-if-you-could-adopt-any-style/1025312.md?page=2)