Ralph Lauren has recovered its women’s collection for autumn-winter 2019/2020 with a firm commitment to women’s suits, whether in a tuxedo, with sequins or in velvet. The actress Nicole Kidman chose a suit this week for the presentation of her latest film, Bombshell. And the firm Mango, in its autumn/winter 2020 collection coinciding with the marked Christmas holidays, also presented a new wardrobe for women in which the main element is the jacket and pants sets: “The women’s suit has to do with the essence of Mango and for this reason it occupies an important role in our collection”, he explained to this medium. That is, the female suit is back, in fact, it has been for several seasons. It is an element that has been part of the history of women’s clothing, but in these times it serves as an empowerment for the figure of women.
Lucía Serrano, from Serna Tailoring. Photo: Ana Morales
Blanca Bleis, founder of the women’s tailor shop Bleis Madrid, told Evasión: “Many women feel very comfortable in a suit and very empowered.” The truth is, she founded her firm in 2017 because in her stage as a banking and marketing professional she was missing suits with different silhouettes, which were more modern and fled from the stale. Lucía Serrano, who is training as a tailor at Sastrería Serna, in Madrid, tells this medium that she observes how women have moved away from the concept of female tailoring, thinking that it was the exclusive domain of men. “The question is that, traditionally, women do not consider the tailor as a figure to dress them. I think it is something that culturally we must change.” Lucía, like Blanca, also believes that the suit empowers: “A well-made suit feels good and gives more confidence, which is very important nowadays and it empowers us, that’s clear.” That rancid moment that Blanca mentioned is not inherent to this item of clothing, because the history of women’s clothing has been closely linked to the suit, although not free of controversy.
history female costume
The skirt suit was the norm for women’s clothing during the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. In fact, it was the most used among women of the middle and upper social class and who, in addition, were the ones who were encouraged to take off their skirts and wear pants. A controversial custom, but one that became more widespread during World War II, when some women began to wear pants or overalls to more comfortably assume more practical jobs in factories.
The designer Coco Chanel had a lot to do with the use of women’s pants in the first half of the 20th century. However, the use of this garment by women was not well regarded until it reached its greatest diffusion in the 1960s. In fact, it was in 1966, when Yves Saint Laurent presented Le Tuxedo, an elegant evening trouser suit. A milestone in the history of fashion that maintains its legacy today.
The time when women’s clothing took on a more political nuance was in the 1970s and 1980s, when women began to enter jobs of power and those of the male sex, such as finance, banking or politics. Concrete images of this trend are the particular style of vest, tie and low shoe worn by the character played by Diane Keaton in the film Annie Hall (1977). A masculine aesthetic for women that left a greater mark in the eighties thanks to the actress, who maintained that style in public life. And that extends until the beginning of the nineties. Another compelling image was the man’s suit that Julia Roberts wore to the 1990 Golden Globes gala to collect her award for Best Supporting Actress for Steel Magnolias.
It was in the 2000s that the suit began to take on a more classic, musty tinge. Perhaps the fast-fashion boom and the easier and quicker access to different trends and styles relegated the suit, a more timeless item of clothing, to the background.
Fortunately, the suit is back and at a time, moreover, when the feminist movement is stronger than ever and whose objective is to give women the share of power they deserve, 50 percent. A good suit, although fashion is sometimes of less importance, can be of great help to achieve those goals. In addition to empowering, this garment brings elegance and does not sexualize.
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