Pants Suits Have Been Permitted in Most Workplaces Since the Nineteen-Seventies

Sep 2
18:53

2011

John Greyling

John Greyling

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Women’s pant suits, slack suits, or trouser suits, as they are also called, have taken many years to be totally accepted by society as just another article of clothing for women.

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For too many years women had to wear fashions that were determined by and mostly designed by,Pants Suits Have Been Permitted in Most Workplaces Since the Nineteen-Seventies Articles men. For centuries women’s clothing styles remained basically in the same format – do not show too much skin, cinch the waist and create an outfit that will not tempt men into uncharitable thoughts. Women’s pant suits would make men look where they should not, and were definitely not acceptable for women of good moral standing to wear.

The 1920s brought about a huge change in women’s fashion, mainly because of a young French orphan, Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, who would later come to be known as a very famous designer by the name of Coco Chanel. She started her career by designing millinery, and then expanded her designs to include dresses, skirts and jackets made of wool jersey. She became famous for using this stretch fabric to design clothing that up until then had only been used for men’s underclothing. She put sexy and comfort into women’s outfits. Coco Chanel is acclaimed as being the person who revolutionized the fashion industry – her famous little black dress is still a must-have in every woman’s wardrobe.

 Could you imagine not being able to wear your pantsuit when it is freezing cold in the winter and all you want to do is to crawl back under the covers? No matter how thick the dress or skirt is, and no matter how nice the stockings, your legs get COLD in the winter. Skirts and dresses do have a place, and many women like wearing them, but they still like to at least have a choice in the matter!

What really strikes me as funny though, is the fact that although women’s pants suits were basically accepted by society in the late sixties, it took decades before women were able to wear them to work:

  • 1933 - Coco Chanel designs a very mannish pantsuit for women, which is largely ignored.

  • 1950Katherine Hepburn, a pioneer for women’s pants is told she may not wear trousers in the lobby of the Claridges Hotel in London – she refused to change her mode of attire, and preferred to use the servant’s entrance thereafter.

  • 1964 - André Courrèges designs the miniskirt and the safari-style female pantsuit and this is the beginning of pant suits being accepted as informal wear.

  • 1966 - Yves Saint Laurent – designs the Le Smoking tuxedo suit for women which is based on the male tuxedo but is slick and androgynous-looking. This really allowed society to accept pants suits for women.

  • 1970 - Companies such as Garwood Mills and the Bank of New Jersey amongst others allow female staff to wear pantsuits to work. JC Penney allowed the office staff to wear pantsuits, but not their floor staff. Other companies were slower in relaxing their rules.
Courts, government offices, and some other companies only changed the rules regarding women’s pants suits years later. Midwestern savings & Loan only allowed this in 1980! These days pantsuits are acceptable everywhere.