v3ra.g.: FEMmasculinity - The Woman-suit

What makes someone look professional? Is it the persona they put on when they meet you, the way they talk, the way their dress or merely their reputation? Perhaps, it's a mixture of all these aspects at once, co-operating together to create a vibe of professionalism and an "I get things done" feel. We can all agree that the way we present ourselves physically has an immense effect on people's reactions and perceptions of us; walking into a 5 star restaurant wearing thongs and boardies is not only morally frowned upon but is actually a one step road to getting yourself kicked out (some restaurants have a specific dress code, none of which include thongs on the list), just like walking onto the beach wearing a ball gown would be regarded as strange (unless you're going to a wedding). We know that when we're going to a fancy ball, we need to dress black tie. We know that when we're going to a cocktail party, we need to wear a cocktail dress. We know that when we're going to an interview, we have to dress in a smart casual way that won't negatively affect your interviewers perception of the person you are. And even with all of that in mind, we sometimes forget to realise that these codes of dress are put in place for us in order to let us achieve a certain persona, a face, to put out into the public. What am I trying to get at, may you ask? Well, recently I have been falling in love with the professional side of things; woman suits, tailoring, smart casual and feel the need to share with you the wonders of femasculine fashion.

During World War 2, women wore pants solely for workwear purposes and remained faithful to the good old skirt and dress. It wasn't only until the late 60's and 70's that women became adapting trousers, pants, slacks etc. into their every-day wardrobe due to the sexual revolution and feminism strikes. Today, pants are regarded as one of the staple garments in anyone's wardrobe; women and men alike. Women love them because they have the ability to accentuate, or hide, particular parts of their legs depending on style and cut. Everyone loves them because they're comfortable, professional, warm, easy to style. What more could we want from a garment?
The concept of the 'woman-suit' has been around for centuries; dating back to the 1660's when women wore a full-length skirt and an accentuated shoulder cropped blazer for horse riding purposes. Later on in the 1960's, the woman-suit was created with a pencil skirt + blazer combo, and it evolved from there. Now, a woman suit is so many things and more. Long gone are the days of being constricted to pencil and full length skirts; women all around the globe are going to work in a full suit attire; slacks, tailored blazer, pointed flat shoes and a fitted shirt. Looking fiercer than ever, the woman-suit is a gracious, professional and ever so flattering attire for a woman; the tailoring of the blazer keeps a womans' body shape and the slacks/pants work to complete the look completely customized to the woman wearing it.

the varieties of the woman-suit are endless... photos all taken from tumblr.

The coolest thing about the woman suit, to me at least, is the ability to change. A suit can be tweaked and changed miraculously just by a mere detail change; change one aspect of the suit and the whole look is different. Creating a more sultry look (for going out, parties) by not going with a shirt at all, creating a more casual look by swapping black flats to white trainers, spicing things up with the addition of a funky pant, or keep things interesting with a unique-cut shirt. I love the versatility of this look; you can go from the office to dinner without changing and still look hella professional throughout the whole day. You can keep a suit for years and years (depending on the fabric of the suit) without wear and tear. I recommend picking up a poly-visco fabric blend suit when choosing a go-to staple suit look; poly-visco is easy to maintain, is breathable, does not crumple and will last you decades. If you're prone to coldness, I would recommend you to pick up a cotton/wool blend fabric suit; thicker, warmer but takes a bit more care to maintain in crisp condition (but so worth it). Never ever EVER put your suits in the washing machine, or tumble dry; take it to the dry cleaners instead. There's nothing more painful than knowing you ruined a garment because you were too lazy to follow the cleaning instructions.

Going away from the traditional black suit; I find stripes to be highly flattering, as well as untraditional colours like the white or baby-blue suit. Something about a person wearing a suit, 'suiting' up, is flattering to me on so many levels. It's symbolism that I have stuff to do, that I love order, I am ready to embrace the world in it's fingertips, I'm not afraid of traditional values. Love love love how a large variety of womenswear designers have designed a selection of woman suits for us girls to fawn over. Long gone are the days of stealing your dads, or boyfriends blazer jacket and hello tailored, fitted blazers and immaculately cut slacks.

modern professionalism meets high fashion

Apart from the suit, I've been loving the pointed flat shoe lately. Highly flattering, extremely versatile, diverse, comfortable, smart, stylish. What more could you want from a shoe? I've been wearing the pointed flat at work as well as to uni, to go shopping, to go to lunch, even to pick up maccas. Literally anywhere. Here are some of my favourite pointed shoe styles;

nothing classier than a pair of good shoes to complete your outfit.. pointed shoes are flattering and highly appropriate for any occasion

Pointed shoes have definitely been high on my 'love' radar this month, so much so that I went out and bought myself a gorgeous pair from Tony Bianco and will be wearing them generously, perhaps for the rest of my life. These babies are great because you can wear them with casual attire to add structure, as well as complete a formal look (like the woman suit!!!). With shorts, jeans, slacks, funky trousers, skirts and skorts... pointed shoes are a personal favourite of mine this month.

There are so many different combinations of the woman suit... here are a few that I have put together.