History

• The term sack suit is largely synonymous with the Ivy suit. This style, associated with Ivy League culture, was first offered in the closing years of the 19th century by Brooks Brothers. Over the ensuing decades, the sack suit became popular among college men. At the close of the Second World War and the onset of the 1950s, the suit gained a new demographic popularity.
  
  

Popularity in the 1950s

• Before the 1950s, the sack-suit style had enjoyed a rather "elitist" appeal. However, by the 50s, it became not only available to, but highly desired by men in the middle class. Instead of its former isolation in the halls of higher education and its social spheres, the sack suit was worn by the "average Joe" on the street.
  
  

Significance

• To some degree, the widespread popularity of the sack suit in the 50s can be seen as illustrating the poor condition of foreign fashion industries--i.e France--after World War II. American designers had to use classic American styles to fill the gap. Additionally, the trend showed the tendency of 1950s American men to wear styles that had formally been reserved for the higher classes, thus carving out their new and independent post-war identity.