Suit and tie: why so much hatred? – Carte Blanche to Mathieu

I have to explain to you, I am doing an internship at BonneGueule, and I come from a school which trains senior civil servants now in Endangered .

When I arrived at BonneGueule, I saw straight away that I wasn't going to keep up with the editorial team. At the Roland-Garros of style, I appear as Thierry Champion against the Sampras, Nadal, Federer and Djoko of men's fashion that constitutes the joyful troupe of Bonne Gueule.

Never mind, I told myself that I was going to focus on something that I know – besides eco topics – to wear on a daily basis: the suit and tie!!! More particularly, on the symbol that this garment conveys.

Already, I think that we can distinguish two types of men : those who like to wear a suit and tie and who can show off at weddings, birthdays and parties of all kinds, and those who are obliged to wear them for reasons professionals, willy-nilly. When the two come together, it’s bingo, life is beautiful.

If there's one thing that caught my attention at BonneGueule, it's the place of the suit and tie: tiny.

I quickly came to wonder if he still had a future. Because yes, I can say it after showing up at parties after work, having had recruitment interviews, broaching the subject with family, the suit and tie has its “haters” . They are everywhere, numerous and fall on you at the slightest bit of a tie that sticks out.

THE SUIT AND TIE, THIS UNLOVED...

A brief return to the origins of the suit and tie will not hurt, to have a clear idea of ​​this opposition which was born almost as soon as the suit and tie found its first followers. From the 1850s, the suit and tie quickly became established in Europe and the United States, then in the 1890s in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The era is in the development of ready-to-wear, and to allow this standardization, men's clothing must be much less fitted. We are therefore gradually leaving the frock coat for the suit jacket which is looser. Very quickly, this suit and tie became, in just a few decades, the symbol of modernity, then embodied by the West.

Many countries, notably Japan of the Meiji era (1868-1912), Turkey of Atatürk (1923-1932), or Afghanistan, chose to reform their society and imposed the suit and tie on their civil servants, to show their connection to the world, their modernity.

On the contrary, the societies which opposed the West, notably during the Cold War, imposed another type of costume, such as the famous Mao collar in China, or even in Iran where the Revolutionary Guards cut the ties. Even more obvious in the former Zaire where Mobutu imposed the “Abacost” clothing doctrine in the 1970s.

So already, the suit and tie is akin to the point of division between capitalists and others and quickly becomes a political object with its supporters and opponents.

At the same time, it is a sign of virility, of success in a constantly growing world but also of independence. Thus, a whole part of the colonized population took on this costume to claim full citizenship status.

This is also the case for Western women in the 1920s who wore costumes to claim equal status with men. It is therefore also an object of demands. As Manuel Charpy says, CNRS historian specializing in the subject , “there have always been power relations around this garment, which can be the marker of control or adhesion, rebellion or conformism even today”.

In the mid-20th century, the suit and tie gradually became the symbol of administration and office life. And so we quickly hated it, synonymous with monotony, boredom: the ringlets, the little gray men, the penguins. It was Jean-Guy from COGIP who invited you to eat brandade in the canteen with his WTF pattern tie.

Several artists have made it the symbol of a uniform world, which restricts originality, like Charlie Chaplin, Jacques Tati or more recently The Office with Steve Carrel. (To learn more about fashion in cinema, click here .)

Even the hippies began to go against this sartorial straitjacket, by dressing in drapery or even living naked, with love and fresh water. I recommend the cult film (a personal taste eh) “Les babas cools” with Christian Clavier immersed in a community next to which he breaks down... in a suit and tie.

There was indeed a revival in the 80s with the wave of yuppies (young urban professionals: traders, executives, salespeople, consultants) who wanted to put an end to the outdated image of the "white collar" and return a chic and cool but this brief trend seems well behind us.

While it symbolized the independent man, it is now rather imposed on subordinates (café waiters, security guards, administrative staff) while the “casual chic” style is now imposed almost everywhere. And then also, Zuckerberg and Bill Gates did him a lot of harm, by appearing alongside the powerful of this world in sneakers/t-shirts.

Beyond historical trends, another major element for suit and tie haters: comfort . Climate change, you especially face it in the face in line 2 of the Paris metro in July in a suit and tie +. And then there is also the famous too-tight knot, the collar which irritates the neck after shaving. Why are we doing this to us?

Today, I have a strange feeling when I wear the suit and tie : a sort of acceptance of the fact that it's has-been while we're all talking about terraces, teleworking and gardening far from urban centers.

But at the same time, I feel that he has not said his last word . We will always be delighted to wear it for special occasions or important work moments, to think about our tie, our cufflinks, our pocket square, before putting on the suit. But a real dusting is necessary.

So no, you will not have my hatred, you despisers of the suit and tie, I will take my revenge sooner or later even if it means convincing, in the weeks that remain for me, BonneGueule to get started on this.