Jon Hamm from Mad Men – Leonardo DiCaprio from The Wolf of Wall Street and Gabriel Macht from Suits (Image Credit: Pinterest.com)

History of the Power Suit For Women

CoCo Chanel’s 1925 iconic suit for women and Adrian’s power suit for actress Joan Crawford 1935 (Image Credit: Glamourdaze.com)

The power suit for women has an interesting past, one that dates back to the 1920s when women first started wearing suits as a symbol of equality and liberation. Chanel’s famous ensemble circa 1925 included a collarless high-quality wool-jacket and skirt. In the 1930s, Hollywood fashion designer Adrian added shoulder pads to Joan Crawford’s suits. The exaggerated shoulders exuded ‘power’ and thus Adrian is considered the creator of first power suit for women.

Melanie Griffith in Working Girl (1980s) and Jodie Foster wearing Armani in Elysium (1990s). Examples of caricature broad shouldered power suits (Image Credit: Pinterest.com)

Fast forward to the 70s, 80s, 90s and the ‘noughties’.

In 1977, The Woman’s Dress for Success Book by John T. Malloy hit the stands. The iconic power dressing look for women in the 80s was somewhat of a caricature and included: architectural shoulder pads, big hair, double-breasted jackets, and sensible heels as evidenced in such films as Melanie Griffith in Working Girl, Faye Dunaway in Network, Dolly Parton in Nine to Five and later, in the 90s, Jodie Foster in Elysium.

Claude Montana’s Pink Power Suit (1985), Ralph Lauren’s 3-piece suit (1990) and Jean Paul Gaultier’s couture suit (2011) (Image Credit: NYhistory.org)

The Power Pant Suit – Adding Color & Message

The power pant suit gained popularity in the naughties (early aughts – 2010s) thanks to Hilary Clinton who first ran for president in 2008, became Secretary of State, then ran again for president in 2016.

In 2019…enter Kamala Harris. Her monochromatic pant suits conveyed a calm, collected, powerful neutrality, and lacked distraction or style choices that would spark conversation. She wanted the world to comment on her actions, not her clothing. In the Black community wearing neutrals is very purposeful and is used to communicate political and spiritual beliefs.

As VP, we saw a change. Kamala’s choice of white reflected women’s suffrage and her choice of purple has long been seen as the color of bipartisanship, combining Democratic blue with Republican red. Her choice of burgundy and pale blue stand out against the sea of more conventional colors, showcasing her confidence and willingness to break the mold. Her choice of tan at the Democratic National Convention was a subtle poking fun at past conservative horror over the tan suit worn by Barack Obama, quietly underscoring the brat side of her character.

As we watch Kamala and her play for the White House the next few months, all fashion eyes will be on her and her fashion choices, specifically her pant suits. Fashion designers everywhere are lining up by the hundreds to dress Kamala and, I for one, am hoping for a bit more style.

A power suit for women is not just a fashion statement, it’s a symbol of empowerment and confidence. Give it a try and start designing your own power pant suit. Check out these UoF lessons: Drafting a Pant Sloper and  Drafting a Women’s Jacket.

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By: Francesca Sterlacci
Title: THE POWER SUIT – THEN & NOW
Sourced From: www.universityoffashion.com/blog/the-power-suit-then-now/
Published Date: Sat, 07 Sep 2024 21:08:39 +0000

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