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9 January 2025The Power of Three
The three-piece suit can trace its origins to the lavish courts of 17th-century Europe and beyond and it’s still the smartest option in a gentleman’s wardrobe
I
n today’s dressed-down world, wearing a good suit shows you mean business. Wearing a good three-piece suit, however, shows you mean serious business. The man who sports a waistcoat is stylish to the power of three.
The three-piece suit can trace its origins to the lavish courts of 17th-century Europe and beyond and it’s still the smartest option in a gentleman’s wardrobe
I n today’s dressed-down world, wearing a good suit shows you mean business. Wearing a good three-piece suit, however, shows you mean serious business. The man who sports a waistcoat is stylish to the power of three.
The sleeveless, buttoned, waistcoat – or vest, as bespoke tailors and Americans call it – is a versatile, practical and stylish garment that today is seen as special – even though it once used to be entirely commonplace.
Until the fashion revolution of the 1960s it was usual to see a man’s suit with three pieces – jacket, trousers and waistcoat – in the same cloth. This was the correct and proper way to dress.
For the origins of the ‘three-piece’ historians point us to the second half of the 1600s when King Charles II of England adopted a style of dressing that was also popular in the lavish court of King Louis XIV in France.
The waistcoat of Charles’ day was inspired by traditional gowns in Persia and so known as the Persian vest. A long single-breasted garment that reached down to the knees, it was worn under a single-breasted coat. It is interesting to remember that while Savile Row bespoke tailors to this day call a waistcoat a ‘vest’, they refer to a jacket as a ‘coat’.
In 1666, in a short-lived attempt to bring sobriety to his somewhat dissolute court, Charles decreed that court dress should be limited to a coat, vest and breeches all in the same dark colour. While this sober rule was not enforced for long, the outfit he prescribed was the precursor of the three-piece suit that dominated male wardrobes for 100 years from the mid-1860s.

During the 200 years between Charles II’s reign and the arrival of that royal style-setter, Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), we can trace the development of the gentleman’s classic suit. During the 1700s and early 1800s, the long coat was cut away at the front and shortened so that it could be worn for horse riding, the main leisure activity of the English aristocracy.
There was a similar reduction in the length of the ‘vest’, so that it went from being knee-length to sit around the midriff or waist. On the legs, knee-breeches were superseded by trousers.
The ‘fancy’ waistcoat was another way in which a man could display his individuality, along with his tie, his cufflinks, his hat, his watch chain and his buttonhole
The evolution of this staple of the Englishman’s wardrobe can be plotted in the paintings of the great English portraitists of the 1700s, such as Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. On their aristocratic subjects, the waistcoat is often of a different material to the coat and is heavily embroidered and laden with many buttons. The unseen back was often in a plain, simple material, a feature that exists today in the unadorned silk back of a modern waistcoat.
At the beginning of the 1800s, the dandy of the day wore a three-piece ensemble, but the three were of different cloth. So a trendsetter like George ‘Beau’ Brummell might have been spotted in a blue coat with a buff or beige waistcoat and yellow breeches, or a black coat complemented by a white waistcoat and sage-green breeches. By this time, waistcoats were normally short and square-cut., showing a couple of inches below the hem of the cutaway jacket front.


From the middle of the 1800s, the oldest son of Victoria and Albert, Prince Edward, had an extraordinary effect on the development of men’s dress. He can be regarded as the first male pin-up as he was born in 1841, shortly after the invention of photography. By the mid-1860s this fashionable Prince of Wales was wearing an outfit that is recognisably a modern three-piece suit – a high-fastening single-breasted jacket with a waistcoat beneath it and high-waisted, but tapering, trousers.
Tradition insists that the lowest button of a single-breasted waistcoat always should be left unfastened. The legend goes that Edward was so stuffed after one of his regular banquets that he undid his lowest button for comfort and his fellow diners copied him so that he would not look improperly dressed. It’s a nice story, but some costume historians point out that the lowest button was being left undone before Edward’s time.
A waistcoat became a symbol of bespoke tailoring – instead of being the height of sartorial elegance, it had the air of an eccentric, even anachronistic, garment
For 60 years from the 1860s, a waistcoat was an essential part of a gentlemen’s attire. Its job was in part to hide the shirt, which was originally an undergarment, so polite society decreed that it should be covered up as much as possible. It also kept the shirt body clean or at least covered – this was the era when collars and cuffs could be detached to be laundered.
There was also a very practical benefit in the days before central heating – a waistcoat kept you warm.
While a vest in the same cloth as the jacket and trousers could be suitably sombre, the third element of a suit also allowed a show of flamboyance – the ‘fancy’ waistcoat was another way in which a man could display his individuality, along with his tie, his cufflinks, his hat, his watch chain and his buttonhole.
Before World War II, even double-breasted suits were often worn with a waistcoat. But wartime cloth rationing did away with the third part of the male ensemble (trouser turn-ups and pocket flaps were also lost by these strictures). In the 1950s and 1960s, improvements in domestic and office central heating, and vastly increased ownership of cars, meant that the thermal-enhancing qualities of the vest were redundant.
As consumers wanted cheaper clothes, it made sense to drop waistcoats from ready-made suits. From this time, a waistcoat became a symbol of bespoke tailoring – instead of being the height of sartorial elegance, it had the air of an eccentric, even anachronistic, garment.
The past few years, however, have seen a revival in the look of the three-piece. It gives a nod towards a dandy spirit; it brings a touch of style, a statement of individuality, a flash of verve. A revived appreciation of good tailoring – whether full bespoke, made-to-measure, or high-quality ready-to-wear – has seen the vest adopted by a considerable roster of high-profile men, including David Beckham, Jay-Z, British pop singer Ben Drew (aka Plan B) and the always dapper David Bowie. Lapo Elkann, grandson of the stylish Gianni Agnelli, is also a fan of the three-piece ensemble.
On TV, the 1920s gangster epic Boardwalk Empire is full of waistcoats and the advertising guru Roger Sterling, Don Draper’s boss in Mad Men, is almost always seen in a three-piece suit.
Today most men never think of wearing a waistcoat until the Big Day arrives – their wedding day.
The popularity of formal dress for the service introduces ‘vest-al’ virgins to the delights of this close-fitting item. Once the nuptials are completed, the waistcoat often begins to make an appearance in the groom’s everyday ‘uniform’.
While on the surface a waistcoat may seem to be a rather plain garment, it is hugely versatile. Firstly it can be single or double-breasted. It can be high-fastening, leaving just a small V of shirt and tie at the neck, or deep-cut into a U-shape – a style that is especially suitable for evening dress. It can have lapels – the choice of the true aficionado – or left with a plain edge.

The absolute golden rule is that the waistcoat must be long enough and the trousers must be high enough to prevent any gap being visible between the two
The back can be plain, patterned or even non-existent. A backless vest is a classic element of a super-traditional white tie formal outfit, but on a regular vest it can mean that the waistcoat can be worn even in warm weather.
Most waistcoats have a sliding adjuster on the back. This helps to give the desired ‘touch fit’ that is snug but not tight. The bottom of the vest can be cut horizontal (usually known as the ‘post boy vest’), gently rounded, or pointed.
For cloths, anything goes – wools, silks, linens, even cashmere are all perfectly acceptable depending on the proposed end-use. It is worth noting some important do’s and don’ts for waistcoat wearing.
The absolute golden rule is that the waistcoat must be long enough and the trousers must be high enough to prevent any gap being visible between the two. Also a belt buckle is an unnecessary intrusion to the smooth line, so ensure that your trousers stay up without one (braces are OK, of course, as they cannot be seen).
It is virtually impossible to slouch in a waistcoat, so wearing one improves a man’s posture. It has the bonus of making the wearer look smart when he takes his jacket off; a waistcoat looks better than a creased shirt. A vest can also help hold the tie in a more prominent position.
A waistcoat offers a way to dress up with ease. A three-piece suit is very versatile. The waistcoat can be left off to create a neat two-piece. It can also be worn with another, completely different, suit to add a contrast garment.
For a dressed-up casual weekend look, it can be put with a sports jacket and contrasting trousers – echoing the three different garments of Beau Brummell’s day.
For the man who is ready to investigate the delights of the three-piece suit, there is no shortage of inspiration. Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair looked fabulous in his checked three-piece suits tailored by London showbiz favourite Dougie Hayward.
This friend of the stars was also responsible for the immaculate outfit worn with quiet menace by Michael Caine in the legendary British gangster flick Get Carter.

The Godfather trilogy is rich with Italian takes on the ultimate in tailoring. Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface and John Travolta’s Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever gave us two takes on the white three-piece suit.
My recommendation, however, is to look at Sean Connery as James Bond in Goldfinger. His three-piece Glen check suit, tailored by Savile Row tailor Anthony Sinclair, is a high-water mark for any admirer of the classic three-piece. He may be 007, but he knows that the man who sports a waistcoat is stylish to the power of three.