I used to wear a blue star on my suit lapel in the 80's. Does that count? They were giving them away in my local wine bar in W1. It was a Newcastle Brown Ale promotion. True. You can tell it was a posh Wine Bar.

If you're talking about suits with labels on the left cuff, they are supposed to be cut off before being worn. Although I have seen any number of people wearing them, including Terry Wogan and the last one was that Chris Jefferies when he appeared at the Levenson enquiry. I put that down to them both being too thick to understand. A proper suit should only have the maker's label inside an inside pocket

Jeans have had labels on the outside since before you and I were born

QED (OP)

I was meaning the sort of thing where the a sweatshirt might have SUPERDRY or ABERCROMBIE & FITCH in huge letters ... where the label has become so much more important than the actual garment that it appears on the outside.
But, yes, your example is a good one.


Hmm, good point, but in general they'd be covered by the belt... except for the identifiable stitching pattern on the rear pockets.

I think you have pointed out where that idea originated.
I'll build that into my general theory on labels.