There is no joke that as women climb the corporate ladders that our wardrobe needs to climb as well.
The problem? Women’s suiting stores simply do no exist and department stores lack the range of sizes to represent all women’s bodies.
However lack of availability has never stopped me from getting what I want before.
My solution?
To march my feminist behind into a menswear suiting store.
I thought I would have to walk in demanding to be treated with equality and prepared to fight for my right as a woman to wear whatever I wanted…. But what I encountered was nothing like that.
The most incredible part of the experience was not only walking into a store with tons of options that would actually fit my larger body, but being treated like the boss I always want to be seen as.
I have talked about this a bit before, my struggle to be seen as an equal in business by men in our local community, but I faced none of this when I walked into Mark Thomas Menswear!
Kerry Fagan the owner of the store greeted me just like he would any man that walked into the store. Offered me a Whisky and a Cigar and treated me like the professional I see myself as….my gender identity was irrelevant because all Kerry saw was a boss who wanted a wardrobe to match!
What was really shocking to me however, was the fact that the male owners embraced my desire to not have a feminine fit to my power blazer….. but the female tailor struggled to see my desires without judgement. At one point she almost made be cry because she kept pointing out I have larger breasts and butt … no matter how confident you are, when someone points out your flaws, it stings and to pretend that it does not is silly.
Here I was thinking that it would be the men not supporting me and instead the men embraced me fully and I had to work to convince the women involved that womanhood does not need to fit into their specific mold of tradition. To convince a WOMAN that not every blazer I wear I choose to be sexy. Also sometimes I just want to have as many pocket options as a man and a more structured fit.
By the way, ladies we are being gipped! With this many pockets I don’t even need a purse! Why are stylists so adverse to pockets in women’s clothing? I hope that this trend in functional clothing begins to find its way into womenswear as well!
The outfit featured above is what I ended up with! I loved the masculine fit of the blazer with the frilly cupcake style of the skirt and the nod to feminists of the past with the Pussybow Blouse from Lilly Silk. Polkadot tights are from SnagTights, shoes are Louis Vuitton and belt is Hermes.
As a woman I want to be really clear that my choice of clothing is an active decision to showcase who I am on the inside through Fashion.
Ladies, we don’t always need to be sexy to be worthy….However, if you want to rip off the power blazer to go from work to drinks and embrace your inner vixen – you will find me right along side cheering you on!
Wear what you want and don’t let a sign like “menswear” stop you from getting clothes you want!
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