Man's Two-Piece Suit
date: label: Date made
content: 1945
name: label: user
content: Morgan, Jr., Arthur A.
notes: label: Description
content: The donor purchased this navy-blue wool double-breasted two-piece suit on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles in early 1945. He wore it for his 1945 high school class picture and graduation ceremony in Los Angeles, California. He continued to wear the suit until he entered the navy in July of 1945. The May 1945 issue of <I>Esquire</I> magazine featured a similar suit, claiming that jackets with buttons set low were accepted by men conscious of the subtleties of fashion. They also noted that a double-breasted jacket with low buttons and long lapels accentuated the height of the wearer.
label: Description
content: While not every man owned a suit in pre-Civil War America, the development of the ready-to-wear industry in the United States made the purchase of a suit possible for most men by the end of the 19th century. The availability of ready-made suits at a reasonable price was helped by the shift from the more formal frock coat and trousers of the 19th century to the more relaxed fit of the sack coat. It is the sack suit or lounge suit, a business suit made of wool with a loose fitting single or double-breasted jacket that dominated men's fashion throughout the 20th century and into the 21st.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: California, Los Angeles
label: bought in
content: United States: California, Los Angeles
label: worn in
content: United States: California, Los Angeles
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Costume
label: See more items in
content: Clothing & Accessories
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Arthur A. Morgan, Jr.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: CS.316499.001
label: catalog number
content: 316499.001
label: accession number
content: 316499
objectType: label: Object Name
content: suit, 2 piece
label: Other Terms
content: suit, 2 piece; Entire Body; Main Dress; Male
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wool (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: jacket center back: 32 1/2 in; 82.55 cm
label: Measurements
content: trouser outer seam: 44 in; 111.76 cm
label: Measurements
content: trouser inseam: 32 5/8 in; 82.8675 cm
label: Measurements
content: waist: 34 in; x 86.36 cm