Here’s a unique addition to the ubiquitous mob w̶i̶f̶e̶ boss aesthetic (or the answer to last summer’s Italian Widow) you really must try: the pinstripe suit. While I love a big, hulking leopard print coat, there’s something more serious, sinister and deeply ironic about a pinstripe suit in 2024 when office culture and suits in the workplace (and anywhere else) barely exist.
For some reason, despite the perennial obsession with mob wife aesthetic, the pinstripe suit has escaped the collective consciousness. Except for this: the fact that they were littered throughout the spring 2024 collections at Schiaparelli, Bottega Veneta and Marni, in all different iterations. The prior season, Yves Saint Laurent did these deliciously and ridiculously oversized pinstripe blazers that dreams are made of, priced for thousands even on sale.
The pinstripe suit has English roots, but whether or not it became elevated from the world of banking or sports is debatable. Fun fact: English bankers during the Victorian era loved a pinstripe suit and the stripes themselves served as a kind of coded messaging—the difference in thickness and distance between stripes represented different banking institutions. I love the lore of the pinstripe suits in the 1920s through the 1940s in America. At the height of Prohibition era, it also served as its own uniform with Al Capone and more. Later on, Clark Gable and Cary Grant—but more importantly to me, is the pinstripe suit and its associations with Marlene Dietrich, Madonna and Vivienne Westwood.
Yes. I’ve been craving pinstripes lately. Can you tell? Coming in the mail today is a great Yves Saint Laurent vintage, oversized pinstripe blazer I got secondhand for a fraction of a fraction of the price of the aforementioned runway look. What I’m getting at, is that there’s so many really, really good vintage pinstripe pieces on the market right now that feel so very right now.
You can do a whole suit for greater impact, or just stick to the blazer. I would style them with lots of accessories. In October, I wore a pinstripe mini skirt suit from Aritzia with a chunky Vivienne Westwood pearl choker, ladies who lunch satin yellow bejeweled heels from Roger Vivier and a beret with teddy bears on it from Angelic Pretty. I also really, really like the idea of big faux fur hats with pinstripes.
vintage pinstripes for your consideration »»»» Continue reading about the pinstripe suit with shopping suggestions at our shopping newsletter parter, Doll Dealbook.
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