"What are some ways a woman can dress today to look powerful that are different from the conventional power suit?"
"The old idea was really just about copying the wardrobe of men. The power suit was the female version of men's tailoring, and if you think about it, because it was a copy, it still suggested that women were not equal to men. That will never be the case again. The backbone of [my] fall collection is powerful tailoring. I don't want to call it "masculine" tailoring anymore. It's not masculine; it's for women on their own terms."
I loved this when I discovered it because it expresses so well my thoughts on women in business. This summer at my internship, I wore whatever I wanted to. Though my mom made me shop for grown-up clothes before I headed to Dallas (all of which I returned once I got there), and though my aunt said I wore "ballerina dresses," I continued to wear whatever I wanted. Here was my (audacious? or stupid) logic: Because I was the intern, getting me in trouble for what I was wearing would only hurt whomever scolded me—if they fired me, they wouldn't have anyone to do the tiny tasks for them. So I staunchly wore what I wanted, confident that my value was in the work I was doing rather than the clothes I was wearing.
This is an unusual attitude in the corporate world, though I find that this flagrancy of self-expression is common in other places in America's job market. This attitude was given its most fulfilling culmination in a comment from a male coworker one day, a comment that gives me hope in the flexibility and kindness businessmen to funky businesswomen.
I was in the break room, refilling coffee or eating lunch. I had never seen or talked to him, but I hear:
"Canvas roll-top sneakers and an emerald crushed velvet dress. Thank you."
What.
Yes.
He proceeded to tell me that he appreciated that I wore whatever I wanted. He said that women had so much more freedom than men in wardrobe choices, and he was happy to finally see someone taking advantage of it.
I love this man.
I have no clue who he is, but I love him for being aware, for the compliment, for telling me about a paisley shirt he wore once and got an inordinate number of comments on, for being conversant about gender roles and stereotypes in the business world today.
So thanks and praise to you, random man. And thanks to you, Versace, for saying in one answer what I thought about for a whole month.
Long live tulle skirts and combat boots, or whatever is "wrong" for business situations,
May it be deemed "right" before too long,
Charlie
