Well, like a camera or a gun, you want to own more than one kind of suit for various needs and settings. But the rise of cheaper and better-looking and -feeling synthetics makes it easier and more comfortable to wear a suit in places where traditional suits would have been awkward – just as the rise of phone cameras and subcompact carry guns makes guns and cameras easier to carry with you than they used to be.

My hope is that this will lead to at least a modest return to suit-wearing. Because not only do men in suits look better – ask almost any woman – but I think men in suits probably feel better, think better, and move more confidently. I’m not saying that more suit-wearing will solve America’s problems, but it couldn’t hurt. And haven’t we gone about as far with schlub-wear as we can go? (Please, let us have gone as far with schlub-wear as we can go.)

[Yes, we certainly have, and not just among men. I’m amazed at how many younger women wear what appear to be flannel pajamas out in public — not teens either, but women in their 20s and 30s. Like Glenn, I sold high-end men’s clothing as a young adult (at Silverwoods in Cerritos, CA, now a defunct chain) and I agree that putting on the “uniform” makes for a different and more intentional mindset. Fortunately or otherwise, significant weight loss over the last few years means I only have one suit that fits me properly … and it’s the Hart Schaffner & Marx suit I bought 42 years ago. Buy quality, It lasts. — Ed]