Lesson one: office power dressing is stuck in a massive rut
We can say what we like on the fashion desk about how a polo neck is so alpha
right now and thus constitutes modern power dressing. But actually, when you
have a job in an office, power dressing for women is incredibly restrictive. And
it hasn’t changed for three decades now. Just ask Diane Lockhart, the poster
girl for a classic Armani skirt suit – simple and elegant, but not exactly
original. Luckily for Chicago’s finest, she manages to look like a tall glass of
vodka tonic (in a good way, of course), notching it up several levels with
little tweaks and details.
Lesson two: workplace jewellery doesn’t have to be nice …
Diane Lockhart, played by the fabulous Christine
Baranski.Photograph: Myles
Aronowitz
... but it has to be big. Again, it is Lockhart who has power accessorising
down. Big dragonfly brooches, multi-string pearl chokers, chunky gold bracelets,
massive earrings – if it looks like it gets stored in a large, padded, velvet
box, then it’s bossy (a good thing). None of it is particularly pretty, but all
of it would win a closing argument.
Lesson three: no one should wear a squeaky leather jacket to the office
…
Kalinda Sharma, played by Archie Panjabi, here in
quieter clothes.Photograph:
CBS/CBS
… not even the majestic Kalinda Sharma. Granted, no one is saying that her
clothes – biker jacket plus miniskirt plus sheer tights and knee boots – are
meant to look professional. Kalinda is a maverick investigator, after all – and
Archie Panjabi said recently that she can only play her in boots, and the
zipped-up business is to emphasise that she is closed and private. But I think
the lesson here is: don’t wear noisy clothes to the office; it’s annoying. One
Kalinda style caveat – having a signature notebook is the last word in chic in
any office.
Lesson four: unless it’s awful, no one will even notice a man’s suit
Cary Agos, played by Matt Czuchry.Photograph: CBS
Depressing but true. Cary Agos, Peter Florrick, Will Gardner, Eli Gould. None
of them dresses particularly well, none of them dresses particularly badly, and
guess what? No one cares. Which is basically exactly how it goes in the real
world. By contrast, it is so easy as a man to stand out in the office by wearing
something slightly left-field. Look what happened when Alan Cumming, who plays
Gould, wore a buff-coloured suit. Yep, everyone commented. Especially us.
Lesson five: if all else fails, look to Michelle Obama
Alicia Florrick and
Michelle Obama have similar taste in power suits.Photograph: CBS/Getty
Flotus’s workwear game is strong. A tailored overcoat, a good suit, the
right-height heels. So thinking WWMOD (What Would Michelle Obama Do)? as you get
dressed for work is never a bad idea. Although, when Michelle wore the same
Michael Kors suit that Alicia Florrick wore in season five to the State of the
Union address, we realised that actually the first lady is thinks WWAFD? every
morning. So now we know: any workwear fashion lesson begins and ends with Alicia
Florrick.
