There’s one question that I’ve had trouble answering definitively, until now: should I wear pants or a dress?
Suffragists fought for the ability to ditch their excruciating corsets and limiting skirts and replace them with something wildly outrageous: pants.
With no disrespect to the immense persecution those women endured on our behalf, we need to seriously reconsider the notion that pants are an essential part of the proverbial power suit.
Technically, the first women’s “pants” debuted in the 1850s and looked a lot like a legging/mini-skirt combo. That particular ensemble, called “Bloomers,” was fairly quickly abandoned because of the negative attention they brought to the women’s suffrage movement.
Later, women’s pants evolved into sleek, high-waisted trousers, the kind boldly worn by Catherine Hepburn in the 1930s.
Many of the so-called power suits available to women today are neither the bold statement women made in the 1850s nor the striking, flattering-yet-powerful pants Ms. Hepburn sported. Most women’s suits are boxy and drab, merely copies of men’s suits tweaked slightly for women’s sizes.
In other words, if we want to make our way in a profession dominated by men, we must dress like them.
No, thanks.
This Wall Street Journal in a 2019 article makes the observation that many women in professional settings are foregoing the traditional pants/blazer combination for something really bold and powerful: a dress.
Quite the ironic turn of events. More than 170 years after suffragists donned Bloomers, women are “boldly” shedding masculine pants and blazers for dresses.
The difference, as I see it, is that the power dresses of today are not the oppressive frocks of the past. Power dresses are smart, well-tailored, and structured. And best of all, it’s all one piece, so there’s no repeatedly tucking in a blouse or, in my case, pulling at the waist of pants that are snug on my thighs and too lose on my waist.
For court, I am (for now) inclined to still wear a jacket. For those formal appearances, then, I rely on a power dress with a feminine-cut blazer in the same color.
I’m certainly not saying that pants are out of the question. The right style and fit can be feminine and flattering, the way they were for Ms. Hepburn. And they can be more practical than a dress or skirt, adding protection from the elements and perhaps a bit more armor.
But pants aren’t our only option, and perhaps the way the global pandemic has impacted the world can be an opportunity to rethink how we, as women, dress to feel confident and powerful in high-stakes settings, like the courtroom. Perhaps now is our chance to decide how we want to dress, rather than conforming to the rules made for us by others.
The Wall Street Journal article closes with quotes from “Shark Tank” investor Barbara Corcoran. “With confidence comes freedom,” she told the Journal. She told the anecdote of when she wore pant suits in Shark Tank Episodes and how she didn’t feel confident in them, so she went right back to dresses and strong performances. She called women who wear power dresses “liberated,” a change our sisters from the 1850s would be very proud to see.