This must be what Schumpeter had in mind when he observed that ‘the capitalist style of life could be easily—and perhaps most tellingly—described in terms of the genesis of the modern lounge suit’ (Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, p. 126). Originating in country wear, the lounge suit was used both as a business suit and as a sign of generic everyday elegance; its connection with work, however, made it ‘unsuitable’ for more festive and fashionable occasions.
The Bourgeois: Between...
