The suit is the traditional outfit of men in the Western world. The modern suit did not appear until the late nineteenth century, but its origins can be traced back to the revolution in men's dress set by Charles II, king of Great Britain in the 1660s. Charles, following the example of the court of Louis XIV at Versailles decreed in 1666 that at court, men were to wear a long coat or jacket, a waistcoat (originally called a petticoat, a term which later became applied solely to women's dress), a cravat (ancestor of the modern necktie) a wig, and breeches or trousers gathered at the knee, as well as a hat for outdoor wear. Although it is hard to see the outline of the modern business suit in the elaborate and brightly-coloured court dress of the seventeenth century, the basic pattern outlined above has survived for more than four hundred years with some adjustments, notably the abandonment of wigs and knee breeches after
the French Revolution; the rise of British tailoring, which used steam, pressure, padding, and stiffening to mould woolen fabric to the body; the invention of the modern necktie in the late nineteenth century; and the gradual disappearance of waistcoats and hats during the last fifty years.

What we call the modern suit was originally a nineteenth-century American innovation in dress: seeking a casual alternative to the formal frock coats then considered appropriate business and day time formalwear, men began to wear shorter coats cut just below the waist when in the country or at the seaside. This "sack suit" (now called a "lounge suit" in Great Britain or a "business suit" in North America) became increasingly widely worn as informal daywear for all men who were not engaged in physical labor. The term "ditto suit" was also transiently used early on due to the matching vest and trousers, these sometimes having coats more resembling a frock coat or a morning coat. Even the humblest men would have at least one suit to wear on Sunday to church, hence the term "Sunday best." The waistcoat or vest was worn regularly with the suit until World War II, but is rarely seen today.

At the end of the nineteenth century, an informal suit, known as the Tuxedo in the US and a dinner jacket in British English, in a dress code referred to as black tie, emerged. It was popularized as an semi-formal alternative to standard evening dress, or white tie. As black tie grew in popularity, it became acceptable formalwear and today has all but replaced white tie, which today is only seen at the most formal occasions. The daytime equivalent to white tie is morning dress.

The earliest women's suits were riding habits, which consisted of a tailored coat or jacket and matching skirt from the 1660s. Practical and sturdy, riding habits were worn not only on horseback, but also for travel and other daytime pursuits. Suits not intended for riding appeared in the later nineteenth century. Both riding habits and walking suits reflected the skirt and sleeve styles of the day.

In the first half of the twentieth century, the skirted suit became the common daytime city costume for women, in the workplace and out; dressmaker suits featured softer fabrics and "feminine" details, and cocktail suits were worn for semiformal occasions in mid-century.

Under the influence of Dress for Success, a working woman's uniform of skirted suit, tailored shirt, and floppy tie evolved in the 1970s and 1980s. Pantsuits (women's suits with trousers) were introduced by designer André Courrèges in 1964 but were only gradually accepted as formal business attire.