From Annie Hall To Power Suits To Biz-Casual

How does a woman dress for success these days?

by Nancy Zintak

May 30, 2008

C areer clothes sure have changed over the years. When considering re-entering the work force, I had to think long and hard about relinquishing my home office attire of yoga pants, baseball cap and if you know me by now, ChapStick.

I became anxious when considering the expense and angst of dressing for success each day. So I checked out some websites for tips and was overwhelmed with advice ... first this from Washington University: "A significant part of a hiring decision is based on nonverbal elements in an interview – handshake, eye contact, body language, posture, listening skills, clothing, grooming and accessories."

I looked to see how I did on these tips: I'm great on a handshake and can keep pretty good eye contact until I get embarrassed and look at my feet. Body language and posture? I'd rank myself somewhere between an "F" and an "0" – I'm always freezing and generally wrap myself into the fetal position with arms crossed at all times. Listening skills? Not good. ... I'm generally too busy talking. Clothing? I'll address that in a minute. ... Grooming? Thanks to my ridiculously expensive hair straightener, I've toned down my Black Panther/Little Orphan Annie look.

As far as accessories go, I'm unemployable. I accessorize like a prostitute, really. Anything big, shiny and jangling, and I'm all over it. So far, it didn't look like I was a candidate for "dressing for success," ... but I can remember far more harsh times for career clothes than these.

There was a very dark chapter in women's wardrobe during the '80s ... it can be summed up in two words: Diane Keaton. While Keaton looked snappy and adorable sporting boxy shoulder pads, Katherine Hepburn-esque wide-rule slacks, and her 1940s derby hats, the look just didn't work for every woman.

Worse yet, the likes of Joseph A. Banks went to work creating their version of androgynous clothes that took the spunk and spank out of Diane Keaton's look and tailored it carefully to mask any possible notion of femininity. Our mailboxes were flooded with catalogs sporting photos of women dressed in men's suits along with a horrid female version of the male necktie that had been expanded and fanned out into a clown tie designed to clamp the top of your blouse closed, amplifying whatever chin issues you might already employ.

Just review some of the films we loved at the time: Annie Hall, Working Girl and perhaps one of the scariest-dressed businesswomen I've ever seen, Fatal Attraction. Around this time came another very disturbing trend in fashion – perhaps you remember Multiples. They appeared to be an off-shoot of Olivia Newton-John's Let's Get Physical leg-warming stage.These were versatile refined sweatpants that came with a wide elastic belt that could be fashioned into a skirt, headband or sofa slip cover. These Multiple packets were a modern marvel – it was haute couture communism: Everyone could wear them, and everyone looked horrible in them. May they rest in peace.

The '90s blew in with Madonna's bustier and Britney's navel.This look was quickly translated into business attire by tossing a short jacket over a satin camisole.With an inch of lace on the bottom. A satin camisole ... at work!

It was during this time that venerable institutions also took their cues from pop culture and sought a "new" audience by "going casual" ... witness banks, whose employees began to wear golf shirts and were encouraged to pass out cookies and balloons to customers.

What would possess a bank to think that hand-painted posters promoting boat loans administered by a "customer representative" in shirtsleeves and khakis would ever fly? No wonder Bear Sterns went belly up at two bucks a share ... they were probably passing out mini-muffins in tank tops!

The vagaries of business attire continue to stupefy me ... in one office you can spot one girl fresh from a Marie Claire ad, and in the next cube there will be someone who thought it would be a good idea to incorporate Crocs into her biz-wear.

Check out the chapter,"On Maintenance" in Nora Ephron's book, I Feel Bad About My Neck and you'll get a good idea of my career-wear focus: full neck coverage, jet black at all times, and plenty of flex time having unspeakable things done to me with hot wax.

Who says clothes make the man?