SMITHSONIAN
Tan Brown Wool Blend Three-Piece Leisure Suit
1970s · 1970s · American
Production
ready-to-wear
Material
wool blend with synthetic fibers
Culture
American
Movement
Disco
Influences
1970s wide lapel styling · leisure suit trend
A tan three-piece suit featuring the characteristic wide peaked lapels and relaxed silhouette of 1970s menswear. The jacket displays exaggerated lapel width typical of disco-era styling, with a single-breasted closure and structured shoulders. The matching vest creates the layered look popular during this period. The trousers appear to have a straight leg cut with moderate flare. The suit is constructed from a wool blend with synthetic fibers, giving it the slightly lustrous finish common to 1970s suiting fabrics. The overall proportions reflect the decade's preference for broader, more relaxed tailoring compared to the slim fits of the 1960s, embodying the confident, flashy aesthetic of disco culture.
jacketregular fithip length
Connected To
Worn with·dress shirtWorn with·necktieTechnique·machine-weaving
SHARED30 years · cross-category
These two pieces trace the long, slow death of American formality — the sage herringbone trousers from the '90s are what survived when the tan leisure suit's polyester optimism finally crashed. The leisure suit's wide lapels and that particular shade of camel once promised that business could be casual, that synthetic fabrics could democratize style, but by the time those pleated wool trousers appeared two decades later, we'd learned to distrust anything that tried too hard.
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