Here's a superb answer on another thread, which itself links to some more in-depth things: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/6cn1gb/when_did_the_suit_something_resembling_current/dhw0d3w/ {EDIT} this is from the user u/chocolatepot ! Thanks.

Further, I can recommend no livelier or more informative book than "Sex and Suits," by Anne Hollander, written in the 90s. It's a great inquiry into the 200ish-year history of the suit. She goes into detail about stuff like dull cloth vs shiny cloth (and how wool looks serious and unfancy enough to suit a modern diplomat or public figure) as well as color (and how a splash of tie color creates just enough).

Her discussion of how a suit provides a man with the ability to be simultaneously sexy and serious, and conversely how our culture gives women plenty of sexy/unserious frilly girly stuff and plenty of unsexy/serious businessy stuff, but not that potent combination, is worth the price of admission alone.