History of the Power Suit

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History of the Power Suit 1920s Chanel liberates women So, how did it all start? We owe a lot of it to that classy French lady Coco Chanel. She was the one who freed women from those horribly restrictive corsets and gave us some room to actually move and breathe! According to the Emerald Street, the original power suit did not involve polyester and shoulder pads, but rather a knitted wool cardigan paired with a matching skirt. This came to be known as the Chanel suit. The suit was usually accessorized with a long string of pearls and was called the “woman’s new uniform.” Hollywood icon Marlene Dietrich helped popularize the look with her slouchy stylish way of wearing the suit. 1931 The first wide-shouldered suits According to Vogue, the house of Rochas introduced the 20th century’s first wide-shouldered suits for women. Marcel Rochas says that his new silhouette is based on the costumes worn by Balinese dancers. 1942 Kate the Great shows us that suits are for girls too Katherine Hepburn showed us that a man’s suit could actually be quite feminine. The slouchier the better for this gorgeous tomboy. Her film Woman of the Year made the suit iconic and a wardrobe staple for working women. 1966 The suit gets sexy It was this year that Yves Saint Laurent introduces le smoking, the “first male-inspired couture evening suit with pants for women.” Here is a picture of Bianca Jagger wearing the jacket. Of course, this sexy look wasn’t really appropriate for the office. 1977 Shoulder pads enter the picture Suits with extreme shoulders became the new fashion rage. The bigger the better. It was all about power. 1980s Power dressing We came into the decade of power clothes in the 80s. Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, and Anne Klein all embraced the powersuit in their designs. The film Working Girl (1988) also capitalized on the fashion of the decade. Melanie Griffith

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