The Icons - The Pant Suit

Let us take a moment please to give praise and thanks to the fashion trailblazers who made women’s pant suits the enduring wardrobe staple that it is today. I’m talking about the likes of Marlene Dietrich who, in 1933, had polite society gasping and clutching its pearls when she posed for Vogue magazine in a slouchy white summer pant suit. Complete with a spotty man’s tie, it was taken as a worrying sign by the chattering classes that gender norms were under threat (oh wow, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet). Or designer Yves Saint Laurent, a man who really had our backs by making his Le Smoking tuxedo a subversive new way for women to dress for cocktails in 1966 and beyond. All hail Nan Kempner, an American socialite who was among the first to don Le Smoking and was promptly turned away from an upscale Manhattan restaurant for her trouble. 

Then there are the heroines I remember from my youth, most notably Diane Keaton who was quirky – and all the cooler for it – in her oversized baggy pant suits, teamed with a natty little waistcoat. Or Bianca Jagger, the rock rebel who got married in a white pant suit, and thus reassured a panicking world that ladies can wear pants and still look absolutely nothing like a boy. 

Collectively, they helped chip away at the ridiculous notion that pants and pant suits are strictly for men, and cemented the modern women’s pant suit as a fashion essential.

I, for one, will be eternally grateful. Because I, a woman not generally comfortable with flashing too much leg in a dress, can’t think of anything that works harder in my wardrobe -–hell, in my life, than the pant suit.

If they’re having something of a(nother) moment, it’s probably down to the fact that, our enforced isolation of the last 18 months has meant that so many of us have forgotten what we ever wore to leave the house. There’s just no brain ache when you reach for the suit. Nothing is as easy. Nothing is as versatile. It’s powerful armor at work. Pair it with trainers and your favorite retro band T-shirt and that same stuffy work suit is casual enough to nip to the shops. Slip on heels, eyeliner – and very little else – and you’re the total smoke show at the party. Besides, any pant suit is the building block of countless other outfit combinations, as both pieces mix brilliantly with everything else you own.

So, we never need to ask the question, ‘Are suits in fashion?’ For so many of us, they are the beginning, middle and end of our look. Don’t fret about this or that cut being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ because, for me, it’s more a matter of finding your own suit personality rather than worrying about which suits are ‘in’ right now. 

That said, designers and fashion editors are currently fixated on a slightly oversized look; still beautifully tailored, but with a jacket kissing a little more of your hand than your wrist and pants on the slouchy side. Make sure the volume looks deliberate – and hence flattering – by pairing with the simplest, form-fitting T-shirt or tank top. 

I don’t know why but there’s something about suits in winter pastels that feels particularly polished right now: choose your tone and work it from head to toe, accessorising with tonal cashmere T-shirts and similarly-colored trainers. One of my current favorites is a pastel pink number that will help me face the January commutes with a bit of cheer. 

Big news this season is the Prince of Wales check, which looks great paired with a cream cashmere knit. Though, me being me, I’ll probably go big with a brightly-colored clashing printed shirt. 

Back in the 90s, I owned a red velvet, skinny pant suit for evening – a good rip-off of one Tom Ford had just sent down the Gucci runway and this season Alessandro Michele revived it. It looks as cutting edge and chic now as it did then. The moral of the story? A great, sexy suit that fits well is forever stylish.