Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A suit, also known as a business suit, comprises a collection of matching clothing consisting of a coat, commonly known as a jacket, a waistcoat, which is optional (called a vest in the United States), and a pair of trousers (called pants in the United States). A shirt and tie very frequently accompany it, though they are not part of the suit itself. Suits originate in formal 19th-century middle-class modes of dress and traditionally clothe men; matching suiting for women is also common in formal workplace attire, with a matching skirt sometimes substituted for trousers.
a coat (commonly known as a jacket)
a waistcoat (optional) (USA vest)
a pair of trousers (USA pants)
Though not part of a suit, a shirt and tie very frequently accompany it.
Originating in formal 19th century middle-class modes of dress, suits traditionally clothe males. However, imitations of the male uniform have also become common in formal attire for females in the workplace and elsewhere: in this case a matching skirt may substitute for trousers. Women have also sometimes adopted masculine suiting with trousers for impact as a mild, socially acceptable form of cross-dressing.
The uniform impression of a suit, often appearing in standard configurations such as pinstripe suit or suit and tie, may carry connotations of staid respectability, unadventurous conformism and narrow-mindedness.
An alternate use of the word as a references to management staff in corporations as "suits" may express contempt for the perceived absence of autonomy seen as imposed on members in a uniform elitist bureaucracy. It may also be a comment on the perceived amorality or even immorality of those who work for corporations.
Learn more about suits.
Everything in the definition follows from one word: matching. A suit is not three garments but one outfit whose jacket, waistcoat and trousers are cut from the same cloth, so the wearer reads as a single, deliberate surface. Break the match and the garments change category: the jacket becomes a sportcoat, the trousers become odd trousers, and the outfit becomes separates. That is why tailoring treats the suit as a unit for fit as well as cloth: the balance of jacket length, waistcoat length and trouser rise is judged together, and alterations consider the whole silhouette rather than any single piece.
Within the uniform idea there is wide variation. Single-breasted and double-breasted jackets, two-piece suits without the waistcoat and three-piece suits with it, lounge suits for business, morning suits and evening dress at the formal extremes, and special suits from seersucker to ski and space suits all use the same word for a fitted, coordinated whole. Women's suiting follows the same matching principle with either trousers or a skirt, and women have also adopted masculine suiting with trousers as a deliberate style statement. The suit's durability as a category comes from that flexibility: the pieces and fabrics change with each generation, while the idea of the matched set, respectable, intentional and complete, stays recognizable.
A suit is a collection of matching clothing: a coat or jacket, a waistcoat (a vest in American usage), which is optional, and a pair of trousers (pants in American usage). A shirt and tie very frequently accompany a suit but are not part of the suit itself.
The suit originates in formal 19th-century middle-class modes of dress. Its matching, uniform character made it the standard formal clothing for men, and versions of it became common in formal attire for women as well, sometimes with a matching skirt in place of trousers.
The uniform impression of a suit, standard configurations such as the pinstripe suit or suit and tie, carries connotations of respectability and conformity. The alternate use of suits for corporate management staff expresses that association, sometimes with contempt for a perceived absence of autonomy.