After years of resorting to blend-in blazers at the office, women are taking back the dress. Call it a 'power dress.'
By Katharine K. Zarrella Aug. 29, 2019 3:28 pm ET POWER DRESSING at the workplace has mercifully evolved since 1988’s “Working Girl,” in which Sigourney Weaver weathered Wall Street in heinous, shoulder-padded blazers. Back then, female office-wear mimicked masculine codes in an effort to level the professional playing field, but today women enjoy more flexibility. And lately, female trailblazers—both real and fictional—have been forgoing suits in favor of form-fitting, no-nonsense dresses.
“A power dress has a sense of poise to it. It can go from day to night, makes you feel confident, and allows you to take ownership of your femininity,” said Zac Posen. “It needs to have a fabric that holds your body and makes it feel secure,” continued the New York-based designer, who contends that his boardroom-ready sheaths are “leading the numbers” for both his eponymous line and the Brooks Brothers collection he designs.
“I feel stronger and less encumbered in a dress,” agreed 50-year-old Juliette Kayemm, the Cambridge, Mass.-based CEO of Grip Mobility, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and CNN analyst. She made the switch from pantsuits five years ago when she realized dresses folded more easily into suitcases for travel, and because they are just one piece, requiring less outfit planning.
Ms. Von der Goltz noted dresses with sleeves, or sleeveless dresses purchased with tailored jackets, are particularly popular on Net-a-Porter.com—which she attributed to chilly office air conditioning. Ms. Corcoran has another take on why sleeves sell: “Sleeveless just doesn’t look dressy enough next to a man in a suit. To me, that looks like a junior executive trying to look sexy…When it comes to business, sexy is absolutely the wrong message no matter what your level.
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