Have you ever heard of "power dressing"? In the 1960-1980 's, women began to pop with the "Power to Wear" (power-dressing) to show the different female orientation, together from the history of clothing to see the flow of female traits.
Skirts and trousers, once divided between women in two factions. The negative traits represented by the former, and the masculine traits represented by the latter, became a key issue of "having to choose one" between the feminists of the 1980 and the female labor force. It is no longer unusual for a girl to wear trousers, but a woman needs to wear a suit to work, which is not a must in the workplace, although women's suits and trousers have been popular. Let's look at the evolution of women and clothes in the 1960 to the 2010 and how women "negotiate" with the world through clothes.
Power dressing
Once, "Pants" (pantsuit) was an entry volume that allowed women to compete with men in the workplace. In the 1960-80 's, women's popularity to "Power through" (power-dressing) to remove or minimize female traits, many fashion brands have also designed a classic neutral design, still relish. (Recommended reading: Creative imagination of costumes new wood fashion )
Picture |instagram screenshot
Picture |instagram screenshot
In the 1966, YSL introduced a Tuxedo to women, called "Le Smokin", inspired by men's smoking coats, the texture of silk, so that women can be in social situations, streets, wearing "Le smokin" smoking without getting full of soot. "Le Smokin" means that women will be more involved in social activities, move around at any time without restriction, participate in society and even light up a cigarette on the street at night and enjoy their own time.
In a classic photographic work by Helmut Newton in 1975, we saw a woman wearing Le smokin with a, as if to declare: Men can wear suits and big mouth smoking, why can't I? Men can flirt with women and walk in arm, why can't I? 」
1980 's: Masculine, goodbye feminine traits
In the 1980 years, women's "power through" reached its peak, and women in the workplace "played" men in clothing, with clothing to obtain "symbolic penis" and enhance competitiveness. The most representative series of visual records, believed to be "supermodel first generation", both gay and rejected their own stereotyped Gia Carangi, she wore Giorgio Armani's trousers, in the advertisement confident, strong appearance. Giorgio Armani's trousers cover up the curve of a woman's body, completely removing "feminine traits" from clothes, making women appear enterprising and tough.
Picture |instagram screenshot
"It looks more serious and takes it seriously." Perhaps it was the reason why women in the workplace wore trousers at the time, and the more neutral and masculine the temperament, the more successful it would be. In 1972-1985, the proportion of women in the United States workforce reached 49%, while women in managerial positions doubled, from 20% to 36%. Power to wear and cover up female traits, in those days, to a certain extent to help women achieve success in the work, which also has a lot of social and workplace prejudice to feminine, female-related traits.
The use of trousers instead of skirts, the replacement of patterns and bright colors with clear colors, and the use of thick mats to disguise themselves have a broad shoulder, making women look "more serious", "more ambitious" and "more capable", in other words, "power through" is a means for women to pretend to be men so that they are seen as men. Sounds very contradictory, is it that women gain strength through neutral clothing, or are women and feminine traits still considered inferior?
2010 's: Pants or skirts, expressions for women's choices
In the 2010, "Pants", "shoulder thick pad" these masculine elements of the popularity has been much less than before. For example, in Givenchy's 2018 Spring Series, creative director Clare Wright Keller designed a different "power-through", with no traditional "trousers" or a "de-feminine" suit, but a skirt with a waist-fixing and open shoulder. Perhaps women who want to be respected, want to look serious and do gain strength do not have to turn themselves upside down into another gender.
Picture |instagram screenshot
In politics, we see British Prime Minister Theresa May's love of showy shoes, from the red lip pattern to the leopard pattern has been in public, breaking the "stuffy board" rules worn by female politicians, if the whole body black words will be added to the color silk towel, and red, yellow can also be worn on a large scale, the British version of the Vogue has gathered more than 1996-2017 years of her political career costume, and she can be seen from one end not take out feminine shoes, colors and skirts. The beautiful image of Ukraine's highly controversial former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, contrasts strongly with his iron-clad, "abuse of power" scandal, with a plate of blonde hair turned out to be her own one-handed.
Picture | Source
This does not mean, however, that trousers no longer have the symbolic meaning of their right to fill. Meghan Markle, Britain's first princess of Black ancestry, has never been associated with a traditional royal dresscode, such as a handbag with a shoulder strap rather than a hand bag, allowing her to shake hands with the crowd and distinguish it from the "sense of distance" between Princess Kate and the Queen of England. She has repeatedly appeared in public with trousers to appear in a public appearance, in part to protest against a conventional skirt. As the first non-white princess, a divorced woman, Meghan Markle's royal marriage and subsequent appearances are the focus, and through the silent expression of trousers, her independent and not afraid of criticism of the female power, but also clearly revealed.
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In the 2018 Golden Globe after #MeToo, an actress once used black trousers to protest against sexual assault and harassment in the shadows, including the performance of the crown as Clarie Foy of the Queen, and the famous actress who performed "Thelma of the Year" Susan Sarandon. (Recommended reading:"movie clothing", "hidden from the Sky Layout", the popular 70 years of dot printing )
Picture | Source
Picture | Source
At the Kang City Film Festival in 2018, three distinctive actors dressed in trousers, with openly lesbian status, dressed as neutral and unruly Kristen Stewart, once performed "Blue is the Warmest Color" and "The Lobster" French actress Lea Seydoux, as well as Cate Blanchett, who has starred in "Ocean's 8" and "Carol" this year. Their own feminine charm and personality traits have not been covered up, whether it is paired with a white vest in the inside or elegant blouse, or repair waist pink design, we all see their unique brilliance.
Picture | Source
What is a costume that really makes a woman feel powerful?
Perhaps "pants" and masculine elements in the 1980 years, like forcing a woman to become a man, but in the 1960 's "Le Smokin" coat appeared, reflecting not the need for women not to be women, but the designer that "women can one day enjoy equal treatment" desire. Real progress, it takes time to learn, every age to see "power to wear and match", we all have a different view.
Now and in the future, women through clothing to gain strength, no longer in the "feminine" and "masculine" between the swim, in recent years, the body of self-love, to remind everyone of the fashion pursuit of large-size women, neutral, androgynous clothing and advertising models increasingly become mainstream, Remind everyone that there are more than two kinds of gender expression and temperament.
All these reflect that the contemporary clothing that makes women feel powerful is "make themselves feel comfortable" and "present their true side" of clothing, trousers, skirts, but a long time ago, women's power to wear the start of the ride.