If informality was at the core of the late eighteenth century changes in men's wear, it was mostly due to the intended use of what would come to be known as sportswear. Although the garments favored by English country squires were far from the relaxed and comfortable garments of today, they marked the first step toward a more casual approach to life and dress.

One of the key figures who helped create change in the late nineteenth century was Edward Albert, Prince of Wales, who would eventually be crowned Edward VII in 1901. Brought up with the strict regulations of court, he nonetheless favored relaxed garment styles in appropriate surroundings. As new shorter jackets without waist seams were introduced, he took a liking to these "lounge suits" and was photographed wearing them in the country as early as 1857. Although lounge suits were first seen with dark jackets and light trousers for leisure purposes, the dominant version echoed the dark colors of other day and evening suits. Lounge suits were often worn with shirts with turned-down collars, which also enabled new versions of softer and narrower neckties to gain popularity. By 1860, sports jackets also appeared at sport clubs and were essentially based on the relaxed fit of the lounge suit. They were often striped in bright hues and were not permitted outside sporting events. Although Prince Albert did not tolerate liberties in the dress codes of others, he was not against breaking the rules himself. By the 1890s, he ruled over men's wear and whatever he approved of was reported worldwide. His fondness for sportswear such as lounge suits, sport jackets, Norfolk shooting jackets with front and back pleats, and knickerbockers in loud tweeds saw these styles progressively adopted in town during this period. By 1900, sportswear was worn at the Goodwood Races where men had previously been properly dressed only in black formal wear. Although Albert's successor would not demonstrate as great an interest in clothing, his grandson would.

Edward, Prince of Wales, who would eventually be crowned Edward VIII in 1936, before abdicating the throne the same year to marry Mrs. Simpson, would prove extremely charismatic and beneficial to the British clothing trade. An ambassador of style, young Edward's love of informality put him at odds with other royals. Having fought in World War I, he was part of a generation who wanted to celebrate life and do away with the old conventions. A man of leisure, Edward was very found of sports clothes and gave many styles the royal seal of approval. Most were not new, but his fondness for "plus-fours," the calf-length looser version of knickerbockers, and knitted sweaters in bright colors, made them extremely popular both on and off the golf course. An acceptable alternative to his ancestor Charles II's vest, knitted sleeveless vests and sweaters were increasingly worn by the young set in the 1920s. Informality in dress was often condemned or ridiculed as an American innovation but once royals took to them they became acceptable.

Young men in Europe and America were reacting against their elders and differentiating themselves through dress. In addition to sports clothes, lounge suits and, the dressier version, dinner suits, were being worn in town and in newly appropriate settings. Bright colors were very fashionable and styles were created that extolled youth and were made for them. For example, pants were widening at the hem and Oxford bags, the flannel trousers worn by undergraduates at Oxford in the 1920s, pushed the envelope and became a badge of impetuous youth. New trousers styles were creased in front, rather than on the sides, and cuffed. An emphasis on athleticism resulted in suits with broader shoulders and wide pant legs, which strayed from the slim lines established in late nineteenth-century men's wear and in 1920s women's wear. The cult of youth made women bob their hair and men shave all facial hair. Where fashion had once mirrored power, in the twentieth century it reflected youth.

 

sport jackets

Norfolk inspired
jackets

sweaters &
"plus-fours"