The Suit Today

Today the suit is extremely symbolic for powerful women and women wishing to succeed in their career. Women are regularly seen wearing suits for interviews and when attending everyday work. It allows the women to feel empowered because of its strong symbolization of being breakthrough women. There are now even organizations that help women who are not about to afford suits. The organization “Dress for Success” helps women to succeed in their work life by providing them with suits, and if available scarves, shoes, jewelry, and other accessories.  Not only does this organization allow women to be dressed for their interviews but also once receiving job offers women could return and get dressed in suiting for their job.  This non-profit has been successful in job retention for woman across 15 countries. Therefore this organization believes that women’s suiting is a strong confident booster and that this style of dress causes inner power, making women the best they can be, causing them to truly believe in themselves and all of their dreams as well as future endeavors.

Throughout history there have always been women of power taking pride in the clothes they have worn in order to have people of their specific society take them seriously. Hilary Clinton is an example of a powerful woman that has been seen wearing a “power suit” often when speaking and making other appearances. Meredith Lepore in The History of the Power Suit writes that the progression of the power suit is extremely extraordinary and has allowed women to progress as a whole. She explains that women are now able to even wear pink the workplace and offices, that lace, which was once seen as sexy and inappropriate for offices is now accepted. Even animal prints such as leopard and cheetah print clothing items or shoes are now often seen and even created by retailers such as J.Crew who design fashion for many working women throughout the United States.  Blair Kohan gives her input claiming that the suit was seen everywhere in Hollywood during the 80’s and you were seen wearing higher end suits as you climbed to the top in Hollywood. Now these suits don’t need to be as “manly,” they do not need to help portray women as being as tough because professionals and specifically men are aware of women’s capabilities within the workforce. Yves Saint Laurent’s Le Smoking helped the suit to symbolize women before they could merely claim seriousness without something like a sophisticated manly tuxedo suit to back up their statement.

This is extraordinarily important for the fashion industry. Women are often judged for their interest in fashion and luxury brands, being told that they are shallow and defined by brands and items. Opposing, women often use fashion as items as help, a booster, to allow them to help define who they want to be. Women dress themselves in beautiful items designed by designers who wish to assist women, to help make them feel beautiful and therefore boost their confidence. Fashion is not fake, not a façade for a women hiding, trying to be something they may not be, but rather a women striving to create their own personal identity, creating their own path and way of life. There are women who wish not to be defined by a man, or their job but rather to define themselves by their accomplishments and dream. Each piece of clothing draped upon them is not hiding their inner beauty, but allowing others to see their inner security from the outside. Although the suit is still worn by many and is a stable item in working women’s closets, its progression within feminism almost has caused it to become outdated.

            Design embodies every aspect of a specific item. Although one might think of design as merely look or functionality, there is exceptionally more that is deposited into the design process. Design, as well as fashion takes time and is thoroughly thought out to create a product or item that is sustainable, useful, as well as attractive to the eye. Everything used and placed in front of one’s eye contains design and therefore there was thought put into its creation.

            Susan Yelavitch explains that design is everywhere and is not always easily noticed or recognized.  Humans take things for granted and do not think about the thought and effort that was once and continues to be placed into the objects and items being created for our own use.  Being more aware of the design surrounding our lives will although for us as humans to be more thoughtful when trying to find solutions to new and surfacing problems. Recognition of how problems have been solved in the past with design can be further progressed in order to solve new or slightly varying issues. Yves Saint Laurent implementing Le Smoking Tuxedo into woman’s fashion allowed for feminism to progress, to knock down boundaries. Fashion is a huge part of design, and design creates silhouettes of fashion.

            In conclusion of completing the novel Invisible Man though of fulfilling dreams and following a path thickened within my head, comparing design including fashion to life, that there is purpose, reason, beauty, balance, and many other aspects in both. One creates their path, they chose which path they take, something’s they cannot control but all are causes of an effect. Artists stroke marks are created by a brush, drawings of dresses, skirts, suiting are created, even though the marks may not come out the way they want, he still created them, and as time progresses, as time is spent on the work of art or life, we get better at creating the design or lifestyle we wish to have, we strive to get better, to be better designs ourselves. Yves Saint Laurent strived to make his design better, to make women stronger. Not only did Yves Saint Laurent succeed in his personal career and within the fashion industry but also he succeeded by causing movement in Feminism, allowing the movement to push forward for years to come.