They wore incredibly well (for several years, I rotated the same 3 suits and 12 dress shirts on an every weekday basis).
There is also a huge difference in comfort between off-the-shelf and made to measure.
If I had much use for a suit these days, I would not hesitate to have a few made to measure, along with a new set of shirts.
Don't know about other places, but at least in NoCal high status people don't wear suits. Since the only function of a suit is status signaling, it seems just a matter of time until everyone else catches up and suits will be replaced by bike jerseys or whatever.
The suit is very much alive in NY, in London, the entire legal world, and in many other places. That's just during the day.
For formal events / outings it is SF that is the extreme outlier. In the rest of the country if you are going to a fancy restaurant, a wedding, an awards dinner or the like you wear a suit. The original rational for the suit actually still holds for these occasions - it removes the need to constantly chase the latest fashions, as many woman and all hipsters must.
When I bought my wedding suit, my fiancee dragged me to multiple shops and eventually had a lengthy discussion with a Saville Row tailor over whether to have one button or three buttons (two? I have no idea), as she believed one button suits would be coming back into fashion on the higher end, but most of the brands did not offer one button suits at the time. She was right. She had similar opinions about the cut...
It's definitely true that there is status signaling involved, whether it's conscious or not, although I would hesitate to say that it's the suit's only purpose (and in my case, that's a side effect, not the purpose). You could make that argument about any clothing if you go that far.
But...I've definitely noticed being treated subtly better when I dress for occasions. Go to a nice restaurant dressed for an occasion, and you'll tend be treated like it's an occasion (obviously your milage may vary - act like a jerk and you'll be treated like one, no matter what you're wearing).
We all have different experiences I guess, but the further West you go, the less formal the attire, and California isn't really as "extreme" as you may think.
Ultimately it's just a cultural difference, and searching for rationality behind it isn't going to bear fruit.
In Southern California though the suit is totally impractical, unless you like to be drenched is sweat. Most of the world is the same at < 35 degrees latitude.
I'd go so far to say the suit is a minor cause of global warming ... all those high rises with no windows running AC all day. Mostly unnecessary.
There seems to be a kind of inverse snobbery about smart dress at the moment, as if the 50-year-old CEOs of huge tech firms think that by taking off their tie we're going to think they're one of us, or the 25-year-old founder of a trendy start-up is going to convince us of their business savvy by wearing a T-shirt and trainers while giving a presentation.
Since the only function of a suit is status signaling
Really? I happen to think that smart dress looks better on me than casual anyway, but even without that, suits are fairly practical garments. A well-made suit is comfortable to wear all day. Suits have an easily removable jacket if you're hot, yet provide useful shelter for the elements if it's cold/wet outside. They have plenty of handy pockets for pens, phones, etc.
Your argument appears wrong because you assume the definition of a 'smart dress' involves wearing a suit.
The definition of 'smart dressing' has been changing rapidly. The very fact that demands for suits is less, shows the trend of clothing around the world.
Back during the days of slavery/aristocracy- costly clothing was automatically a status signal. What you are seeing currently are just echoes of that culture.
I would consider it stupid to spend so much on costly clothing. I am hiring people to write program, not for modeling.
But that breaks apart in bigger environments, and out comes the suits.
Jack Dorsey has whole articles written about the suits he wears. I think he is high status however you measure it.
Anyway, it is also function signalling. Suited people are those people who talk to other suited people.
Don't know about other places, but at least in NoCal high status people don't wear suits.
Yes, I understand that.
I even said "In my experience location and field of work makes a bigger difference to suit wearing than anything else."
Somewhat surprisingly for those of us in technology, the Silicon Valley look hasn't proved very influential in the fashion world.
No, it's not. Just as you like hacking / biking / whatever, many people enjoy looking good by wearing well-made clothing.
If anything, I suspect people on average are spending more on clothes around here.
Why do you think the suit is dead?
I wear a suit (not always, but often enough to have an opinion).
I've never bought an expensive suit, but I nor do I buy cheap suits. I guess I generally spend around $500.
I work with people who spend $2000 on suits though. These aren't bespoke, but are from nice fabrics and cut very well (eg, Hugo Boss etc). I'm no suit expert, but I can tell the difference.
I can't say I've seen any particular decrease in suit wearing over the past 15 years I've been working, although ties are less common that they used to be.
In my experience location and field of work makes a bigger difference to suit wearing than anything else.