Leisure suit

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A leisure suit is a fashion of the 1970s, consisting of a shirtlike jacket and matching pants [1] usually made of stretchable double knit polyester. It is often considered emblematic of the era's alleged bad taste in men's clothing.

The fashion has some precedent in styles of the 70s and earlier, but only became popular when — with the creation and popularization of synthetic materials — unprecedented cheapness met with a culture that had come to hate formality.^{[citation needed]} The leisure suit gained popularity with its promise to bring a stylish suit that could be used in formal business, but was comfortable and trendy enough for everyday wear. The leisure suit height of popularity was in 1976,^{[citation needed]} but fell from fashion around 1979.^{[citation needed]}

The leisure suit became associated in popular culture with bar culture, gangsterism, and conversely, with clueless dressing, e.g. Leisure Suit Larry. A sub-genre of the leisure suit culture is the "full Cleveland". A full Cleveland is a leisure suit combined with a white belt and white dress shoes. By 1978, most retailers were all but giving their inventory away.