The Power of the Pantsuit

Whenever I see or hear about the pantsuit, my mind immediately connects the famous outfit to Hillary Clinton. For decades, she has used it as her signature look and as a tool to brand herself and communicate key messages of her political goals. While the results of our latest election were definitely not what most of us hoped for, she has certainly made her impact on the world, including the fashion world. However, Hillary isn’t the first woman to use the pantsuit to express herself. Throughout the history of women’s fashion, the pantsuit has been used as a tool to display freedom, power and controversy.

The Evolution of the Pantsuit through History

1870’s: Sarah Bernhardt, a popular actress in Paris, received a lot of anger and hate for a custom-made pantsuit. She called this outfit “boys clothes”. She ignored the criticism she was receiving and continued in her efforts to blur gender roles, where she eventually performed as the role of Hamlet.

1910: The “Suffragette Suit” was created by the American Ladies Tailors Association, which was made out of a blouse, jacket and ankle-length skirt.

1914: Coco Chanel designed her first suit, a fur-trimmed jacket paired with a matching ankle-skirt. This was an important moment because a luxury fashion designer had created her own version of the Suffragette Suit.

1930: The movie “Morocco” featured an actress named Marlene Dietrich wearing a tuxedo. Designers started creating pantsuits for wealthy customers since it caught their interest.

1980’s: This was the decade of the “female power suit”, or the pant suit. It became a popular style for women working in the corporate world, but it also became a way of expressing their power and taking up space in an environment that was historically dominated by men.

1987: Margaret King, the stylist of Margaret Thatcher, explained that the prime minister chooses to wear pantsuits because she works “in a man’s world, and had to look the part”, which is a feeling that many women in the corporate world were able to relate to.

2008: Hillary Clinton thanked her supporters at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, calling them her “sisterhood of the travelling pantsuits”.

The Power to Empower

Even with its long and complicated history, the pantsuit continues to hold a weird place in society where it symbolizes strong women throughout time seeking to defy typical gender norms while also being used as an item to continue keeping us in our place. Even while women try to fit in with their pantsuits, there are plenty of people who continuously use them to push the women down. Nevertheless, the pantsuit has a long and rich history that is extremely meaningful and important. Pantsuits are proudly worn by women to claim their spot in places that have been historically dominated by men. The pantsuit is so much more than clothing. It symbolizes the ambition of women to have an equal role in the world and imposes the strength of women among all who attempt to diminish our strength.