Sartorial Stagnation: The Degradation of Menswear

This paper will present the anthropology of dress and adornment in a new light by considering western-centric menswear through the lens of stagnation. It will question how dress in its current form, as a non-human object, is the product of a unique cosmopolitan discourse. Formal menswear has remained static in terms of design for almost one hundred years, while there has been a substantial stagnation and degradation of quality. This is mirrored by a decline in the frequency with which the majority wear formal dress. I will suggest that as a product of this notions of ‘smartness’ have degraded and that the ability to read the semiotics of tailoring has been lost by all but a few cognoscenti. Furthermore, the appearance of new streetwear tropes such as ‘scumbro’ highlight the sartorial stagnation being experienced by younger populations, and a desire to rebel through dress. Finally, I will question whether this form of stagnation is cyclical, with a desire for a new group to appear differently through dress ultimately coming to stagnate in its own right.