By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
August 5, 2004
Marlene Dietrich knew how to wear one. So did Katharine Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. But do modern-day women such as First Lady Laura Bush, Elizabeth Edwards and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton know how to work a pant suit?
Sort of. While Bush cuts a striking figure in her size 8 Oscar de la Renta suits, Edwards — who said she bought many of her pant suits at the discount retailer Marshalls — and Clinton could use a little help when it comes to fit and style.
Still, Clinton liked her own clothes enough to wear a blue pant suit to the unveiling of the official presidential portrait in which she is depicted wearing a black pant suit — a First Lady first.
“I loved that they wore suits, but I wish they had been a little more adventurous with how they wore them,” says Kate Dimmock, fashion director of the soon-to-be-published SHOP etc. magazine. “I was surprised no one thought to wear a beautiful brooch, a jewel colored silk or a pretty feminine blouse with a high neck. Any of that would’ve been great.”
It’s not surprising these powerful women would appear in public wearing pant suits rather than sheaths or skirts. Aesthetics aside — a good pant suit can hide a few pounds as well as less than perfect legs — pant suits convey a down to business attitude that can’t hurt during a presidential election year. They also can be more comfortable and less high-maintenance than dresses.
“The pant suit is a way for these wives to show they’re serious about what they do,” says fashion designer and professor George Simonton, whose clothes are part of the First Lady’s wardrobe. “They’re not in the background anymore — they’re being judged, too, so they’re being very careful what they wear in public. I’ve always loved pant suits on women, which is probably one reason why they account for 75 percent of my line.”
Women’s modern-day pant suits haven’t been in vogue since the mid-1970s, but they’ve been part of the progressive woman’s wardrobe for much longer.
“Adding a belt or a cluster of pins or a brooch are all simple ways to accessorize a pant suit,” says Marie Claire’s market director Regina Haymes. “If you’re wearing a structured suit, you want to bring feminine pieces in, and you can do that with a ruffled collar or sleeves.”
