The Tailoring Tradition Of British Fashion

As a birthplace of modern men's fashion, the Britain has developed a long tradition of tailoring over the last hundreds of years. A study of this special tradition would definitely contribute to a deeper understanding of both pattern designing principles in men's suits and dressing etiquettes in the western world. Based on wide consulation to English literature, this dissertation at the very beginning presents a thorough analysis of reasons that contributed to the prosperity of the British tailoring trade in the 19th century as well as the British characteristics integrated in the modern style of men's fashion. Among all the procedures of tailoring, cutting is taken as the study focus in this dissertation due to its key role in determination of the ultimate effect of a men's suit. First of all, a complete summary of the development of cutting system in the 19th century has been drawn from a historical point. Two representative and far-reaching cutting systems, the Wampen's system invented by a mathematician and the C.P.G. System invented by an experienced tailor, are thoroughly studied in terms of their designing principles. It is especially found that the Wampen's system that is scientifically constructed on the basis of anthropometry shows advantages in fitting to different figures. Secondly, two main aspects of the cutting, principles of fit and considerations for body movement, are fully addressed after an analysis of several different cutting systems. Special attentions have been dedicated to neck point with its relations to style and figure adjustment, and principle of balance which has been rarely addressed in China. Finally, an alternative explanation of the development of style in men's fashion in the 19th century is made from the perspective of cutting. On the one hand, a pursuit of fit lead to a gradual change in the structure of men's clothes. On the other hand, under the joint effects of fit, practical functionality and elegance, was the dress code changing with time, and so was the men's fashion in the 19th century.