HOW POWERFUL WOMEN OUTSMART CONVENTIONAL
FASHION
DESIGN
INTRODUCTION
When women first started flooding into professional workplaces in the 80’s, they faced a dilemma – what to wear? High fashion didn’t look professional. Female versions of men’s suits just seemed silly. Dresses could be too revealing, and often didn’t convey power. Weird compromises ensued. And you know what? We’re still agonizing about women’s looks.
HELLO!
Perhaps a little context. It wasn’t until 1974 when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was passed which, for the first time, allowed women to obtain credit cards independently from their husbands. Astonishingly, it took until 1981 when a famous court case settled that a husband could not dispose of jointly held property without the agreement of his wife (that isn’t that long ago, folks!).
WOMEN’S ASSUMPTION OF POWERFUL POSITIONSHISTORICALLY RECENT
THE “WORKING GIRL” AESTHETIC
But despite these advances, fashion for powerful women was all over the place. For a great introduction, have a look at this trailer for the 1988 film “Working Girl” (ouch!). We had big hair. We had boxy shoulder pads. We had high, spiky heels. There was big jewelry. Eventually, we left that behind and the era of “ power dressing” was born.
LOOKING AS THOUGH YOU BELONG AT THE TABLE
Even today, despite the leaps women have made in professional and public spheres, their fashion options often are frustratingly limited. While menswear has long standardized the power suit and set expectations around professional attire, women have frequently been left to navigate an uncertain landscape of ill-suited, trenddriven, or overly conservative options.
THE NICHE WAITING TO
BE CLAIMED, THE MISSION TO BE BROUGHT FORWARD
McLemore’s success is more than a matter of business for her. It is part of her mission to provide women with tools – in this case, clothing – that allow them to look the part as they take a seat at the proverbial table. It’s a reminder of the importance of truly understanding your end-user— something that applies far beyond fashion.
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
The barriers to women achieving power have come down, but they are far from gone. Women still suffer a narrower range of acceptable behavior than men (what my colleague Adam Galinsky calls the “low power double bind”). Women are often excluded from the networks largely dominated by men. Women can be left out when it comes to the key assignments that lead to big promotions.
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