its that same idea you want to look nice but you

Ditch the dress and put on a pair of powerful pants instead

When Zeina Esmail, cheap louis vuitton bags from china uk FASHION magazine's newly appointed fashion editor at large, attended Milan Fashion Week for the very first time in September, she got nervous. "Going to the shows is the event of the season in our industry," she says, pointing out that editors and stylists bring their best sartorial swagger to the international presentations, often for the hordes of street style replica louis vuitton bags photographers outside. "It was such a big deal for me."

Esmail, who in the past has always defaulted to dresses and skirts for big occasions, confidently dug out an oversized grey pinstriped suit for the collections one day a move that inadvertently landed her on popular style blogs.

The suit, it seems, has stepped out of the practical confines of the office and the work cubicle into the domain of high fashion. In the corporate world, trousers are as stiff and dated as Melanie Griffith's Elnett doused mane in Working Girl. Powerhouse women, such as Marissa Mayer, the new CEO of Yahoo, have shunned them altogether. Today, unashamedly girly execs prefer cinched dresses and printed Oscar de la Renta numbers. Even Hillary Clinton has left her trusty blue pantsuit behind.

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But if the trouser suit has lost its workplace lustre, it is gaining, as Esmail discovered, new cachet in less buttoned up and even high glam situations and fashion's forward thinkers are leading the charge. Miuccia Prada, for one, showed little else at Miu Miu and Prada for fall 2012. Marc Jacobs, meanwhile, introduced a fresh formality to trousers at Louis Vuitton, layering them underneath skirts in all kinds of luscious, beaded brocades that give the party dress a run for its money.

"When you think about what you're going to wear for holidays, [consider that] we're coming out of a big dress period," says Susie Sheffman, the fashion director at eLuxe. "A dress doesn't feel as fresh anymore. What feels and looks fresher is a sharp pantsuit, a tunic over a pant or a trouser with a boxy top. It's the idea of a sharper line."

In the 1920s and thirties, it was the genderbending Marlene Dietrich and tomboyish Coco Chanel who introduced women to the idea of trousers. Now, says Esmail, it's red carpet stars such as Kristen Stewart, who wore a beaded Zuhair Murad pantsuit to a recent Twilight premiere, who are setting the example in terms of formal power dressing. "Designers are creating clothing for the modern day woman," she adds. "It's the 21st century: Under what circumstance is a ball gown something that you would want or need in this era?"

Indeed, Sheffman points out, it's the women who are done up and overdressed who, in social situations, are often looking enviously at the rebel in the pantsuit: "It says that she's confident enough to look really feminine and attractive but still be in pants."

The trick, aaa replica designer handbags as both Sheffman and Esmail explain, is to opt for curve conscious shapes and details that reinforce femininity. Sequins and embellished brocades, much like those details at Louis Vuitton, will help. So will a hint of lace or lingerie underneath a crisp white shirt.

Mettler is one of those women who will dress up her replica louis vuitton bags from china trousers with jewellery and lipstick for a party. "To me, it has always been about mobility. When I get dressed, I want it to be in a way that makes me feel like I can do anything."

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Mettler references the first scene in cheap louis vuitton bags from china the new James Bond movie Skyfall, wherein star Daniel replica designer handbags Craig is jumping on and off trains in a slick, tight fitting Tom Ford suit. "It's that same idea you want to look nice but you want to go where the night takes you," she says. "If you're functional high quality replica handbags china and mobile and even replica louis vuitton able to run around, the adventure can follow. There's a freedom and a power to that."

So while Yahoo's Mayer and others like her have succeeded in breaking through the glass ceiling to pave the way toward the emergence of more women CEOs than ever, the notion of the corporate power suit as previously understood may be a thing of the past. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Non subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Readers can also interact fake louis bag with The Globe on Facebook and Twitter.

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