The term “waistcoat” is generally a more specific one than “vest”— it refers, literally enough, to a sleeveless garment that covers a man’s waist, hiding the top of the trousers and the bottom of the shirt.

A three-piece suit is an excellent starting place for a man with no other vested outfits, as the vest can be worn separately with other garments – the only caution here is that any piece of a suit will, if worn too frequently, wear and become lighter in color than the other pieces. Craig’s dinner suit was personally made for him by a master tailor and his stomach is as flat as a washboard. If you can’t duplicate these factors then don’t expect to duplicate his formal waistline. A sweater-vest can be worn to basically the same functions that a sweater can, but appears as a more conscious choice on the wearer’s part simply by being the less common option.

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Vests and waistcoats are elegant garments that add more to an outfit than most accesories. They can add formality to suits, style to unmatched outfits, comfort to casual wear, or warmth to business dress in cool weather. Greatrex, Tom. “Waistcoat.” In The Berg Companion to Fashion, edited by Valerie Steele. Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010. Accessed October 03, 2017. https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/products/berg-fashion-library/encyclopedia/the-berg-companion-to-fashion/waistcoat. Wilcox, R. Turner. The Dictionary of Costume. 1st Macmillan Hudson River ed. New York: Macmillan, 1987. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/456762613.

For women, the vest arrives later and takes several forms before resembling the menswear garment familiar today: Formal waistcoats often feature lapels, which is uncommon on most other vests. They tend to be cut much lower in the front than the waistcoats that accompany three-piece suits, leaving more of the formal dress shirt visible. The undress vest is generally seen as a stylish flourish on whatever parent garment spawned it — and, from a more practical standpoint, is one that can be worn in somewhat warmer weather.

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The gaudy colors you sometimes see at rental outlets remain novelty items, but a rich burgundy red or deep green is appropriate enough to be worn in front of the Queen of England — and has been. The Vest in the Man’s Three-Piece Suit

In a vested or three-piece suit, the waistcoat is made from the same fabric and lining as the rest of the suit, creating a uniform stretch of cloth from the ankles to the chest. The versatility and unusual style of waistcoats and vests is too good for a well-dressed man to pass on entirely.Cumming, Valerie, C. W. Cunnington, and P. E. Cunnington. “Vest.” In The Dictionary of Fashion History, 218. Oxford: Berg Publishers, 2010. Accessed January 17, 2018. https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/products/berg-fashion-library/dictionary/the-dictionary-of-fashion-history/vest. The Dictionary of Fashion History (2010) gives a chronology for the use of the word vest in menswear: