thumb|300px|Fashion illustration of three-button drape and two-button drape suits, 1940–41
Drape suits are a British variation of the three-piece suit introduced in the 1930s, in which the cut is full and "drapes". It is also known as the blade cut or London cut. The design of the athletic aesthetic of the drape suit is attributed to the London tailor Frederick Scholte.
The new suit cut was softer and more flexible in construction than the suits of the previous generation; extra fabric in the shoulder and armscye, light padding, a slightly nipped waist, and fuller sleeves tapered at the wrist resulted in a cut with folds, or "drapes," front and back that created the illusion of the broad-shoulders and tight-waist "V" figure of the very fit.
Historical background
Most changes in menswear occur slowly and subtly, until the shift becomes noticeably different. This noticeably different change occurs some time after the transition had begun.
1920s–1930s
Introduced in the late 1920s, the athletic silhouette in suits "gradually and subtly refined into the drape cut".
Frederick Scholte's distinctive V-shaped suit was developed through "discreet horizontal drapes narrowed across the shoulder blades from the roomy armholes down to the raised waistline". In comparison, the English version has a less tapered waist with a straight skirt line.
Drape suit in the mid-20th century
By the mid-1930s, "two subtle changes added a touch of modernity to the athletic suit style". The suit was modernized with the use of synthetic fabrics and a more modern construction.