Fashion notes: Power dressing without going back in time

Should a woman in power be subjected to scrutiny for her choice of clothing? Absolutely not. Nor should any man. Regardless, clothes talk and, unhealthy as it may be, our style choices are often yet another tool used to form a physical projection of status.

Historically, women who dressed for power were associated with male authority. Take the 1980s, a breeding ground for materialism and excess, but also the decade that gave birth to the term “power dressing".

By latching onto a masculine aesthetic that would intentionally defeminise the female form completely, our sharp-shouldered dark suits with hard lines were destined to make us appear bigger, more angular and, ultimately, more ­assertive.

This new kind of feminine "armour" allowed us to literally grow in size – enabling us to stand tall and stand out in a previously male-dominated environment.

Shoulders were widened to linebacker proportions by the use of padding and the waist was all but diminished by the square box-cut jacket. Sad, really, because powerful women existed well before "masculine chic".

Nowadays, androgynous style isn’t exactly revolutionary; perhaps as the once-rigid boundaries between the sexes have changed, so have the blurred edges of our professional clothing choices.

Concepts of hard and soft dressing are now equally common to both sexes – a somewhat hopeful indication of how gender identity and crossover in the workplace has progressed.

The battle between traditional rules of dress and modernism is certainly less prevalent. Would we think about wearing an oversized power suit now? Probably not. Firstly, because one needs to be shaped like a pipe-cleaner to appear in any way cool; secondly, few can realistically pull it off without appearing, well, a little ­humourless.

Which isn’t entirely fair. None of it is – but fashion thrives on expectation as much as it feasts on decoding visual signifiers.

Above all, quality is imperative, so buy the best you can afford. Be careful about your fabric choices; mostly, anything synthetic won’t work, as the appearance that good-quality cotton or wool suiting will give cannot be recreated by a cheaper equivalent. While bold colours can be used as welcome accents, whites, nudes, creams and black or navy are generally more highly regarded.

There shouldn’t be any need for gimmicks or sweeping statements for women in the workplace – just clean, simple, good-quality garments that speak for themselves and stand on their own. Nor should there be any accidental misreading of dress codes or the need to revolutionise women’s clothing. Despite our protestations, the lines are pretty straightforward.

Lastly, learn to understand your station and be aware of what you are trying to portray. It's a cruel fact, but a truism nonetheless, that the more you earn, the less you need to care. A chief executive in Lycra beams: "I'm as successful as I am fit." On a low- to midlevel employee, it whimpers: "I got locked out."

What shows real nous is fitting in with surroundings. That and feeling (looking) comfortable. Which sounds easy, when really it involves a tremendous amount of deliberation and understanding. Remember, turning up to a hip ad agency with a tie and briefcase won’t give you any more kudos than rolling into an actuary’s office in an ironic playsuit. Unless, as the former, you're being ironic.

Ah, fashion is a fickle beast.

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