Fashionable during the 1970s, the leisure suit for men was a mainstream response to the casual dress style of the hippie (see entry under 1960s—The Way We Lived in volume 4) movement. Made of polyester (see entry under 1970s—Fashion in volume 4) fabric, often in bright colors and plaids, the leisure suit consisted of pants and a matching jacket, styled with an open collared. The suits helped make men's fashion less conservative. The suits also were a forerunner of modern casual Fridays, when less formal clothes may be worn to the office.

The popular polyester leisure suit. Lambert/Archive Photos, Inc. Reproduced by permission.

Although leisure suits represented somewhat of a breakthrough in men's fashions, they were considered ridiculous by many conservatives and radicals alike. Since the 1970s, leisure suits have often been used as an example of a fashion mistake. However, the suits have left...