I think this question deserves a legit answer. Folk music has always been associated with working-class or rural people. It's been a contrast to the glitzy and glamorous approach of the conventional music biz.

Actually, this was a complaint by the late Lee Hays of the Weavers who thought that it was insulting to working-class rural people to insist that folk singers wear overhauls or work clothes on stage. Growing up in a folk tradition, Lee noted that the country people always dressed up when going to public functions. They wouldn't be caught dead in their work clothes.

Later, when the Folk Revival (Scare) took place, the uniform of the "folk singer" became the work clothes of the rural poor. It became an affectation.

I've noticed that pictures of Leadbelly, Earl Scruggs, A.P.Carter and many other folk singer/instrumentalists show them in suits and ties.

Many of the clothes worn by traditional American folk singers from the 20's and 30's were not high fashion. They were poor but they tried to look as good as they could under the circumstances. Many old photos show the men in suits and ties.

In the Sixties, the suit and tie became a symbol of the elite and the styles of dress changed to accomodate the mistaken idea of the clothes of the working class, mainly worn by those of the upper middle class, namely, jeans, overhauls, raggedy shirts, etc.

The Folk Scare brought about a new wardrobe and has remained.

Frank Hamilton