Famous Women In History: Trends That Sparked Change In the Workplace

This Women's History Month, the women at Pliancy have been thinking about who came before us and who will continue to make a difference.

We still have a long way to go, especially when equal pay , the "pink tax," and underrepresentation are still gender gaps we're fighting to close. It's almost unbelievable, but fashion trends had a hand at bolstering women through all the turmoil to get this far.?

The 20th century untied women from the constraints of home and brought them into the office, among other political shifts like reproductive rights and the 19th amendment. American women would open the latest Harper's Bazaar and see the new trends. Without knowing it, these trends would shape our society and future.?

It’s time we took a look at the most remarkable fashion trends that aided equality and the important women in history who helped along the way.

Women's Suffrage

Women's history month wouldn't exist if it weren't for the women's suffrage movement. The movement brought to light political corruption and fought for women’s rights between 1890 and 1920.?

The movement was full of Progressive Era reformers with differing opinions. Some women's rights activists were anti-fashion , accepting fashion as female oppression. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a reformer who firmly believed that fashion kept women subservient to men.?

Suffragists often admired reformer Susan B. Anthony for her style. She took on fashion trends and embraced femininity through the way she dressed. This made a point that women can have individuality instead of mirroring men.??

Coco Chanel and the Pursuit of Pants

At the turn of the century, women would gasp if they knew that most women today wear pants every day. They would've faced legal repercussions—women facing imprisonment for "looking suspicious" in public was another threat to women’s freedoms.?

The unique circumstances that would've allowed women to wear pants came during the First World War. Women working in factories would be in overalls, and women in public services could wear long trousers in the cold months.?

The Origin of Women’s Pants

Women fought for years for the simple right to wear pants. Even the White House dress code didn’t change until 1973. Could you imagine a modern world with the same standards?

It wasn't until the 1920s that Coco Chanel would be the first woman to make women's pants fashionable. The French designer was looking to easily climb into the unsteady Venetian gondolas in Italy; thus, the trouser was born. She took inspiration from sailors' trousers. She created yachting pants for various leisure activities and began selling them to the masses.

The popularity grew in the ‘20s, making dressing in slacks fashionable. In the 1930s, women started gravitating towards dresses. And during World War II, Rosie the Riveter campaigned for women to work for the good of the nation, getting them back in pants.

Little would Coco know that she liberated women from a patriarchal societal norm. She pushed women forward to take on the same activities that only men could previously enjoy and feel comfortable doing. And, later on, this helped women feel empowered in offices, then boardrooms.

Old Hollywood and the Rise of Feminism

In the 1930s, women could be detained by police for “dressing like a man .” It was one old Hollywood actor, Katherine Hepburn, who broke barriers as she sported trousers on and off the set. The costume department at her film studio, RKO, stole Hepburn's pants . She walked around the studio in her underwear until they returned her pants.?

With the hard stance on pants, actors such as Audrey Hepburn and Marylin Monroe made pants fashionable once again in the ‘50s and ‘60s. They often modeled pants in the same classic pictures we see today.?

The Powerful Pantsuit

We mustn't forget the pantsuit. Male designers such as Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld popularized the pantsuit in fashion magazines in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. Women joined the workforce more than ever, as films like Nine to Five and Working Girl glamorized women in the workplace.?

Then political figure Hillary Clinton popularized the pantsuit in the latter part of the century. Women still rock the evolved women's suit today.?

The Miniskirt

The swingin' sixties brought a short skirt that embraced feminism and sexuality. The look was an embodiment of social and political freedoms. Women entered the workforce and took control of their reproductive health.?

We owe the miniskirt's origins to British designer Mary Quant , whose trend took off around the same time as the birth-control pill. Activist Gloria Steinem was famous for wearing these miniskirts. She said she was "fed up with being manipulated" and that women could make their own decisions. No longer did women have to conform to the cinched waists and balloon skirts of the ‘50s.

Women’s Liberation and Femininity

After the 1960s, the Women's Liberation movement was full force as women made their careers. Designer Diane von Fürstenberg was inspired by the movement and was successful at spreading the trend of the "three Fs:" feminine, flattering, and functional.?

These dresses were no longer constrictive but instead comfortable. Heavier undergarments were becoming a thing of the past. Women could show off their bodies and embrace femininity while still being practical. The wrap dress is still a popular choice in the business-casual category.

Intersecting Technology and Fashion

In 2009, a Harvard Business School student, Jenn Hyman, was blown away by her sister’s spending on designer goods. She wanted a better way for women to wear designer clothes without the $2,000 price tag. That’s when Jenn had the idea—why not rent out designer goods? That’s when Rent the Runway was born. She and her fellow classmate and friend, Jenny Fleiss, got to work on their business idea. Their peers and the fashion industry (including Diane von Fürstenberg), gave the women their blessing, and they were soon met with demand.?

Together, the women were meeting their mission of empowering women to feel their best every day—so they launched their website. The company took off and began democratizing fashion in America.?

After launching stores in Las Vegas and New York, the demand grew so much that Jenn and Jenny launched a subscription service in 2016. Soon enough, they created an app where women of any shape and size could go online and pick out several designer outfits per month. The clothes could be at your door in just a few days.?

Their algorithm is so intelligent that it can help you choose sizes and match you up to outfits and reviews based on your measurements when you set up your account. These CEO women badasses transformed the fashion industry with just one idea and the help of technology.?

The Pursuit of Gender Equity

Women of the world have freedom of fashion today. However, there's still a long road ahead. Antiquated beliefs still exist in the workplace and beyond, even in our modern era. Wage gaps, especially among black women, Latinx, and other women of color, along with sexual harassment, are alive and well.?

It's up to women to empower each other, believe in individuality, and pursue careers in tech, engineering, or any men-dominated area to achieve gender equity.

About the Author

Stephanie Shaykin is a Content Marketer at Pliancy with over seven years in strategy and writing. As a former Fashion and Communications major, she geeks out over fashion history every chance she has. She has a passion for intersecting technology and everything applicable to broaden the landscape and open up opportunities for other women everywhere.?