More men than ever may be ditching the formal look for a more casual workplace experience, but a majority of British women questioned in a new survey say they should put their suits back on.
Emboldened by the freewheeling attitudes of Silicon Valley and other internet-centric industries to cast off their ties and other conventional wear in favour of the now pervasive work uniform of jeans, t-shirts and trainers, it may seem that the suit has had its day.
Not according to a survey of British women carried out by internet giant Google on behalf of global luxury menswear label Empire Outlet . The company, which is based in the UK and was only founded in October 2016, provides quality custom-made suits at drastically reduced prices and serves customers in more than 35 countries.
A Suitable Boy
The Google survey underscores a desire for men to dress like men and not boys. Asked if they thought men's suits were a timeless classic and would never go out of style, or if suits had had their day, 68.2% of women agreed that a good suit on a man was a timeless classic. Just 5.8% of UK female respondents disagreed with that sentiment and 26% didn't know.
Again, many of the British women who took part in the online survey (45.5%) said they would like to see more men wearing suits in everyday life. They favoured men suiting up at work and other places instead of the current trend of jeans and t-shirts. Those who disagreed that they would like to see a more formal sartorial return to male life amounted to 27.5% and 27% didn't have a view one way or the other.
Most women, however, (42.1%) disagreed that a good suit makes a man, while 38.3% said they definitely believed that was true and 19.6% had no opinion. Asked what colour suit looked best on a man, 31% said grey; 30.6%, black; 10.6% blue; 6.9%, pink; and just 6.4% said the traditional navy suit was their preference on a man. Wool/tweed (14%), cotton (12.6%), silk (10.9%) and linen (8.4%) were fabrics for men's suits that respondents liked best.
Following Suit
Indeed, the hipster trend many contemporary men have latched onto is one that's firmly rooted in solid masculinity and a return to more traditional styles, while at the same time displaying a potent sense of individuality and flair. Many a heavily bearded hipster sports a fashionable suit, in such comeback materials as tweed — and the runaway success of suited-up shows like Mad Men may be spurring men to forsake the casual look.
Empire Outlet director Anthony Horner said the survey results were not all that surprising, and that men would always look sharp while wearing a suit. Horner, who comes from a background in the British Army, decided to set up his own luxury menswear company after being put off by the high prices of men’s suits, deciding to set out making them affordable for all.
"We may like to think we're all casual now, all the time, because we see all these big tech guys parading about at work like they were down at the beach. But it turns out that men like suits, and women like them in them," he said. “We certainly encourage men to dress as they want, but they should also be aware that, as the survey points out, they will always look fantastic in a suit.”
Contact:
William Furney
Company: Empire Outlet
Address: 1 Leopold Street, Nottingham, NG10 4QD, UK
Phone: +44 (0) 115 896 2348
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.empireoutlet.co