Leisure Suits
It's from 1973, before you were born.
- Era
- 1970s
- Peak
- 1973–1979
- Signature
- wide-lapel polyester suit, open collar
- Note
- the ultimate disco-era menswear
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About
As of 2026, it's 53 years old.
The leisure suit was the 1970s man's answer to a question absolutely no one had asked: what if a suit, but entirely polyester and faintly flammable? Matching jacket and trousers in bold earth tones, lapels wide enough to hang-glide with, and a shirt unbuttoned to maximize chest exposure.
Accessorize with a gold medallion, platform shoes, and a feathered blow-dry, and you had a man fully prepared for the disco, the office, or a deeply confident family portrait. The fabric did not breathe — but neither did the room when he strode in.
It became fashion's favorite punchline almost on arrival, which only makes it more perfectly, gloriously, irredeemably '70s.
Leisure Suits through the years
Polyester takes over
The casual matching suit becomes everyday '70s menswear.
Disco peak
Saturday Night Fever's white suit makes it a cultural icon.
