# Will colorful men's suits ever come back into style? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 28, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484 "2023-02-28T14:06:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/41 "2023-03-02T03:35:37Z")
> [@NinthAcolyte](#): > > Google [Congo Dandies](https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2020/aug/27/congolese-dandies-meet-the-stylish-men-and-women-of-brazzaville-in-pictures) for examples! That is spectacular. > [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Anybody know what all those tools are in front of Edwige Mbourangon’s shop? At first glance they looked like giant novelty push pins which is - of course - absolutely inaccurate. They are struts, without coils or boots. As for the OP question, there are certainly some of our here that like to be stylish, and even like to wear suits. I have two conservative suits (one black and one grey) and then I have a very pale grey plaid suit, and for my belated (Covid delayed) wedding reception, I’m going to have a darkish teal suit made. I do think that the brighter blue suit is becoming more common. I see it among all the other standard colors fairly regularly. Oh, and men’s suits can go out of style. How long it takes depends on how fashionable (vs conservative) it was when it was made. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/42 "2023-03-02T04:27:53Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > They are struts, without coils or boots. I can’t find ones that look like that, so maybe something similar. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/43 "2023-03-02T04:33:53Z")
Maybe not colors, but the style and cut sure does. Watching shows from 20 years ago, grown men look like little boys playing dress-up in their dad’s suit. Those things were ridiculously baggy! ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/44 "2023-03-02T05:13:56Z")
Of course coloured clothing will come back into style; there are only so many ideas. Whether most men care what is currently in style is a different question altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/45 "2023-03-02T05:46:35Z")
Indeed! My sister decreed her wedding color would be pink, and so the Black mother of the groom and her then-partner showed up in coordinating shades of pink. He even wore pink spats. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2023, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/46 "2023-03-02T12:22:41Z")
I would wear a suit like that at least a couple times a month. Or at least, the jacket. I’m not really a “suit” person, I prefer a nice jacket or blazer - colourful or textured - with non-matching trousers - pinstripe or solid colour. I’d wear the trousers, too, just not _with_ the jacket. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/47 "2023-03-02T15:00:14Z")
Apropos of not much, I disagree with the assertion that only Boss Hogg could pull off a white suit. Ricardo Montalban did quite a nice job of it as Mr. Roarke in Fantasy Island. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/48 "2023-03-02T15:02:24Z")
True. White suits are a villain staple. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/49 "2023-03-02T15:07:16Z")
Huh? It’s pretty practical overall, considering that the chest and length are really the only parts of the suit that can’t be altered easily. Nobody should be wearing unaltered suits anyway… can you even buy them that don’t need the pants and cuffs to be hemmed? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/50 "2023-03-02T15:15:37Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Nobody should be wearing unaltered suits anyway… can you even buy them that don’t need the pants and cuffs to be hemmed? Sure; mid-range department stores have long sold off-the-rack suits, with pre-hemmed pants. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/51 "2023-03-02T15:32:08Z")
Huh. I didn’t know that. I always assumed they came with the pants unhemmed, and that you basically need to get them altered to fit properly. Which is probably actually true; for the cost of alterations vs. the cost of a suit, you can look a LOT better for not a whole lot more money. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/52 "2023-03-02T16:02:02Z")
Jon Batiste always had snazzy clothing when I’d see him on Colbert. Google images of him and you’ll see a lot of cool jackets. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/53 "2023-03-02T16:04:54Z")
The Mid-Level department stores tend to be big on “suit separates” where they sell you the two pieces, jacket and pants, individually and the pants come standard pre-sized and hemmed (e.g. 32x30, 40x34, etc). (Dedicated suit shops sometimes do similarly for unhemmed pants for people whose chest-to-waist “drop” is not the standard.) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/54 "2023-03-02T16:05:42Z")
> [@ratatoskK](#): > > on Batiste always had snazzy clothing when I’d see him on Colbert. Unfortunately, no store can sell me his sense of swanky coolness. 😢 ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/55 "2023-03-02T16:10:12Z")
Most people are still going to need them altered to fit properly - although a lot of people don’t care if their pants are a half-inch or inch too long ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/56 "2023-03-02T16:34:40Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > The Mid-Level department stores tend to be big on “suit separates” where they sell you the two pieces, jacket and pants, individually and the pants come standard pre-sized and hemmed (e.g. 32x30, 40x34, etc). Yes, thank you; that’s a more accurate description of what I’ve seen. I bought a suit that way twice: - The suit I wore to interviews when I was getting out of grad school in 1988 (bought at JC Penney) - A suit I bought on a lark at Kohl’s about a decade ago, because it looked good and fit me well, even without alteration > [@doreen](#): > > Most people are still going to need them altered to fit properly - although a lot of people don’t care if their pants are a half-inch or inch too long I suspect that this is a big part of it: the off-the-rack suit (or suit separates) fit “well enough.” ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/57 "2023-03-02T16:37:22Z")
As did Tom Wolfe. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/58 "2023-03-02T17:20:15Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I suspect that this is a big part of it: the off-the-rack suit (or suit separates) fit “well enough.” For instance with a purchase I made in 2017 — it was a full suit, not “separates”, but though the pants got _two_ rounds of alterations to get them right, the jacket was so close that though it may have taken a half or whole inch here or there to make it “perfect” I figured “oh, whatever, it already looks and fits so much better than what it’s replacing”. I believe that outside of made-to-measure _many_ men only alter the pants. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/59 "2023-03-02T19:47:01Z")
That’s interesting. I was always taught by my father and grandfather (both bankers/financial industry types back in the day) that it’s more important to have a suit that’s _well_ fitted & altered, than it is to have an expensive suit that doesn’t fit right. So the idea is a bit foreign to me; getting a mid-range suit somewhere like Men’s Wearhouse and having it altered everywhere necessary is just how it was done, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484/60 "2023-03-02T20:43:15Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I was always taught by my father and grandfather (both bankers/financial industry types back in the day) that it’s more important to have a suit that’s _well_ fitted & altered, than it is to have an expensive suit that doesn’t fit right. Agreed; once I started having to wear a suit every day for work, I was going to actual men’s suit stores, and having them fitted and altered. Even though I don’t often wear a suit anymore, the couple of suits I have in my closet are fairly recent purchases, and also fitted for me. But, then, like your father and grandfather (and maybe you), for me, the suit was part of my regular business attire, and there was/is a value placed on getting the proper fit. But, for a man who wears a suit once or twice a year (if that), for a couple of hours at a time (i.e., at a funeral or wedding), that simply may not be as important or relevant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-colorful-mens-suits-ever-come-back-into-style/980484.md?page=4)