Posted on 09/13/2004 12:09:05 PM PDT by Lorianne
Tuck away those sexy tops. Cover up the belly. Dismiss the short skirts to a dark corner of the closet.The new business fashion for women says goodbye to bare sexiness and say hello to flirty femininity.
``You can't find a suit with a miniskirt anymore,'' said Erin Bianchi, public relations manager at Bloomingdale's at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, Calif. ``I think women have realized that they are prettier when they don't show so much skin.''
After years of outfits oozing sex, it seems people have overdosed on bare bellies, barely-there tops and cleavages so wide and deep, double-sided tape is required to keep the R-rated look from turning soft-porn.
Vogue had a cover story titled ``Naughty vs. Nice. Why showing skin is no longer in,'' where fashion icons discuss the new, more covered professional fashion trend.
Even bare-skin poster child Donatella Versace -- who sent shock waves through the entertainment world when Jennifer Lopez wore her green dress held together by only a clip below the navel -- has a fall collection with humbler suits.
Instead of clothes that scream sex, the new business fashion for fall whispers sensuality. Jackets with nipped-in waists emphasize the female shape. Little puffs on the shoulders add playfulness. Pencil skirts cover the knee but hug the body to hint about what's underneath. Slacks are fitted but flow out over the leg, to distinguish a woman's pant from a man's.
``The nipped-in waist is an outgrowth of a young person going to work and not wanting to look oversized,'' said Ilse Metchek, executive director of the California Fashion Association.
Women can now wear dresses to work too, something Metchek hasn't seen in years. They come with polka dots, or other playful patterns.
``Women know they can make it in the workplace now,'' Bianchi said. ``Everything is very feminine. We've moved away from dressing like men.''
The dresses, or skirts, or pants for that matter, can all be worn with one of fall's most forceful fashion comebacks: the cardigan. Cover two fashion bases by buying cashmere cardigans.
Try to find cardigans that pick up on the explosion of new colors this season. Seafoam green, pink, yellow, the list goes on and on.
Colors are creeping into even the most conservative business wear. Pinstriped suits now have pink or red stripes, said Diana Jennings, a wardrobe consultant in Coto de Caza, Calif.
``It's a classic but updated look,'' Jennings said.
A lot of mixing and matching is going on with that classic suit. The jacket can be worn with a separate skirt. The pants can be worn without a jacket, and with -- gasp! -- a bow blouse. Yes. The bow blouse of the 1980s is back. Its flowy lines and buttoned-up style is exactly right for the times.
Slap a big brooch on the blouse (or on the cardigan) and the outfit is complete.
No, wait. No outfit is complete without shoes.
Heels are a must with the feminine styles of the season, Bianchi said. One option is a round-toed shoe.
``They have to be feminine shoes,'' she said. ``No loafers or chunky heels.''
Some of those new shoes have fur accents. Fur is in again. Faux as well as real. It can be a full coat -- sometimes colored in a bright appley green or cherry red -- or details, such as a stole, a collar or cuffs.
After almost 20 years in the business world, Marla McCutcheon, 40, has seen it all. In 1986, when she started working at a law firm, women wore long skirts and suits. They had some femininity, McCutcheon said, but mostly mimicked men's' suits. Then the pendulum swung to the other extreme. Lacy underwear-like blouses peaked up from cleavages. Skirts resided high above the knee. Then the business casual business wear hit when anything seemed to go. Now fashion is more sexually toned down, yet celebrates femininity.
``I think this is probably the best-case scenario,'' McCutcheon said. ``The pencil skirt makes more sense. You can't bend over in a miniskirt.''
Slacks are ``completely acceptable,'' for women to wear now, McCutcheon said. Today's styles give women pants that are comfortable, practical and yet feminine.
McCutcheon herself often wears slacks with a top or a jacket. She now is a principal of Echo Media, a public relations firm in Tustin, Calif. While her own office is a creative environment with more tolerance for choices of clothing, some of her clients are law firms, where the dress code is usually stricter. It's important, McCutcheon said, to be sensitive to the dress atmosphere of customers.
While a sleeveless shirt could be acceptable at McCutcheon's own office, it would be inappropriate to wear it without a jacket on visits to a client's law firm.
``Women need to think about how they portray themselves,'' McCutcheon said. ``You don't want the attention to be on your clothing, you want it to be on your work.''
How women dress can be function of how long they have been working. Some older women tend to get more conservative as they work their way up the career ladder
What's the point of having a Porsche if you can't show it off?
There's a difference in flaunting what you've got, and just plain looking like a slut.
I shouldn't have to see butt crack - on ANYONE - at work. Of the sides of this girl's bra poking out of her shirt's armholes. She literally looks like a streetwalker most days.
Well, unless you work with plumbers (there are union rules requiring at least 4 inches of butt crack) or in a strip club, I agree.
I was just trying to point out that, IMHO, a very attractice wife or girlfriend should be flaunted (in a non-work setting, of course).
I see several comments about women over a certain age should'nt go sleeveless and that only thin women can wear hip huggers. I am 42 I will wear sleeveless when I feel like it. You don't like it don't look.
Now lets talk about men with large guts and short tshirts,that should be outlawed.. Can I get a heck yeah?
P.S. I love my workplace ,we all get to wear scrubs. Its like wearing your jammies to work.
What's wrong with tramps? Nothing wrong with getting a little now and then.
The bare skin sexy look was never in for the office, except on TV shows and in magazines. It's always been fantasyland, not real life.
Hey Muggs!
I'm actually a stay-at-home mom right now. So what I wear doesn't really matter!!! However, I am getting ready to go back to work as a sub in our school district. I'm pretty conservative all around! I have some nice shirts with no sleeves but will also have a sweater or jacket to go with it. If I'm out on the playground with the kids on a hot day, I will be comfortable!
As much as I love conservative women, I don't like them conservatively dressed. It's the biker in me.
With the multiculturalism popularity, our society has become too casual. Anything goes. People show up to work sometimes in t-shirts and old comfy jeans, sweats. Uniforms have turned into polo shirts and pants. Far cry from the period of time you are speaking of.
I do agree with you, but with todays popularity of importing poverty into this country, I think the days of formal attire have gone to the wayside, unfortunate sign of our times.
In all the office type jobs I've had we always had to dress conservatively. One time a girl wore nice blue jeans and had to go home to change. They weren't lewd in any way - just blue jeans.
I dress conservatively, too. But when I am home I dress as cool as I want. That usually means shorts and tank tops in the summer. I don't have hot "flashes" - I tend to be hot all the time, unless it is winter. I can't stand being hot.
Yahoo!!
I just started working for a new company. The old company didn't mind if I wore jeans but with the new company I'd be afraid to try it. I've got 23 pair of jeans and now I almost never get to wear them.
That's the pitts. If it is the same type of work as you had been doing it looks like they would let you wear them. Maybe you could wear them when you are off hours - otherwise know as happy hours (he he).
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