Low-waisted pinstripe slacks, a cropped button-up, pointed-toe kitten heels, and a sleek pair of rectangular glasses can easily elevate the corporate look. The latest aesthetic that blends traditional work wear with out of office attire created what we now call, office siren. However, this trend wasn’t imaginable in the 20th century.
The integration of women into corporate America was a significant moment in both women’s and fashion history, but it didn’t start that way. Until 1870, suits were predominately enforced and worn by men, but then French actress and suffragette Sarah Bernhardt defied societal norms by wearing men’s clothing. This gave women the idea to sport tailored jackets and trousers, and evidently marrying the two, which caught the eyes of Coco Chanel in the 1920s. Their 1925 collection revolutionized womenswear by creating the first suit, replacing trousers with a skirt in their signature tweed, bringing the historic trend on a global scale. Back in America, women just gained rights to vote in 1920, which snowballed into an increase of rights and participation of married women within the workforce. Fast forward to between the 1960’s and 1970’s, 50 percent of single women and 40 percent of married women worked outside the home in some capacity, and what do they need to blend and earn the respect of their male successors? Pants.
In 1966, Yves Saint Lauren’s Pop Art collection, would go down in fashion history for its development of Le Smoking Suit, replacing the skirt with matching trousers, mimicking a men’s tuxedo. Women were exploring their masculine edge, while still maintaining their femininity by having a more tailored or fitted fit. Also fitting is the title of the garment, which used silk-lapel to protect the fabric from ash, because a cigarette was as normal and often as chewing gum today. From the 80s to the 90s women slowly dominated corporate America earning high profiled clients, and higher roles, masking in suits to fit the bill or respectability politics. Designer’s Giorgio Armani, Anne Klein, and Donna Karan incorporated some type of suit ideation within their collections, but Ralph Lauren’s 1997 collection, brought the women’s power suit to perfection. Offering an array of styles for button downs, jackets, blazers and trousers, dressed in a sleeker image then men. These styles featured shoulder pads and straight lines, allowing women to demand respect, feel empowered, and embrace their autonomy. Suits at that time transcended a pivotal point in fashion, allowing women to comfortably navigate traditionally male spaces.
Today in 2024, a woman is campaigning for one of the most challenging, predominately male titles of all time, president. VP Kamala Harris has been on her own tour, to earn the majority vote from state to state. While normal people are paying attention to her potential policies, fashion obsessors are observing her wardrobe.
Since Harris’ introduction to the world, she’s worn a power suit, that’s never replaced for a skirt or dress, and while throughout her term as vice president they’ve been tailored, during her campaign they haven’t. It makes you question the history of women at work, the fashion history behind the power suit and the work that still needs to be done for women to have the right to wear what they choose. Respectability politics, no pun intended, plays a major role here, as she strategically tries to earn a man’s vote. By Kamala showing her femininity, some men or even women might argue that she’s not stable enough to be president. Fearful that she may start a war on her period or cry in front of an ambassador. These stereotypes are unfortunately amplified if Harris wore anything revealing in the slightest. Therefore leading to protecting her emotions behind the fabric of a trouser or blazer and downplaying her figure to avoid sexualization and be regarded as an equal amongst her male counterparts. By adopting masculine styles she commands respect and garner support.
The pantsuit is a shared power source among women in politics, as it has been seen on Former First Lady Michelle Obama, Former Presidential Candidate and Senator Hillary Clinton, and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher. Women in high-ranking political positions continue to face many of the same challenges that working women encountered over 50 years ago, while in other industries, women’s dress has significantly evolved and become less stigmatized.
Since the pandemic of 2020, work culture has changed drastically. Most companies have developed a work from home, or hybrid culture, allowing employees to be active on Slack in pajamas or last night’s outfit. In person, office wear consists of trendy garments or activewear, including denim jeans, sneakers, tank tops, or leggings. Women aren’t afraid to wear their personality rather than hiding behind societal norms.
Above all, the power suit figuratively represents a monumental moment for women, and still does today. Traditional menswear for women was a beneficial yet bold pivot which paved the way for future generations of women to command respect, regardless of how they dress. Although some offices suggest that women dress modestly, the freedom they have is far more than what was accepted or imaginable in the 1920s.