These are challenging times for women wedded to their uniforms.
Black pants, jackets and turtlenecks, full and generous tunics. Cushy, chunky shoes. The occasional high points of gray or tan, denim or leather.
How securely convenient, easy, comfortable.
The seeds of change, however, were planted seasons ago on fashion runways and in stores–delicately patterned dresses and appliqued sweaters, for starters. Embellishment, it was called. Another hint was fierce, competing color–reds, greens, blues, oranges. But we were assured that we had choices. Did we want the minimal, pared-down look? Great, keep it. Feminize it a bit? Get a sweater set in a yummy color and pair it with black. But the threat of change is no longer a tease. It’s here.
As you course through the following pages, you may experience both glee and trepidation. Spring 2000 is overwhelmingly feminine, unabashedly sexy. And familiar, because some of the looks remind us of what we wore in the ’70s and ’80s, when dressing up was a flirtation with our pocketbooks and whomever we were trying to attract.
Uniformers, it might be fun to give this new look a try.
It will mean planning what you’re going to wear. Thinking about shoes . . . fishnets . . . handbags to match or not . . . full hair or pulled back.
Old habits are hard to break, but some of us already have begun. The Wall Street Journal recently touted “the feminization of the workplace,” where women feel that allowing the complete person (read “woman”) to exist is acceptable–even when it comes to feminine dressing.
For spring, the task will be to incorporate some of the more glamorous, polished looks into our wardrobes.
The clothes this season, like any other, are like elective college courses: They’ll look terrific on your record and enrich your experience. Shake up your life.
Take the dare.
