Leisure suit

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Leisure suit convention

A leisure suit is a fashion of the 1970s, consisting of a shirt-like jacket and matching trousers,^[1] usually made of stretchable double knit polyester. It is often considered emblematic of the era's taste in men's clothing. The leisure suit jacket design is thought to have been loosely based on that of the safari jacket.

The fashion has some precedent in styles of the 1970s and earlier, but only became popular when — with the creation and popularization of synthetic materials — unprecedented cheapness met with a culture that had come to hate formality. It was highly associated with the then Disco culture as well.^{[citation needed]} The leisure suit gained popularity with its promise to bring a stylish suit that could be used in formal business, but was comfortable and trendy enough for everyday wear. However, it was not accepted in most businesses or even restaurants. The leisure suit height of popularity was in 1976,^{[citation needed]} but fell from fashion around 1979.^{[citation needed]}

The leisure suit became associated in popular culture with bar culture, gangsterism, and conversely, with clueless dressing, e.g. Leisure Suit Larry. A sub-genre of the leisure suit culture is the "full Cleveland". A full Cleveland is a leisure suit combined with a white belt and white dress shoes. By 1978, most retailers were all but giving their inventory away.