Pantsuit

Hillary Clinton wearing a pantsuit as she is sworn in as Senator.

A pantsuit or pant suit, also known as a trouser suit outside the USA, is a woman's suit of clothing consisting of trousers and a matching or coordinating coat or jacket.

Formerly, the prevailing fashion for women included some form of coat, but paired with a skirt or dress—hence the name pantsuit.

History

The pantsuit was introduced in the 1920s, when a small number of women adopted a masculine style, including pantsuits, hats, and even canes and monocles.

André Courrèges introduced long trousers for women as a fashion item in the late 1960s, and over the next 40 years pantsuits gradually became acceptable business wear for women. In 1966, designer Yves Saint-Laurent introduced his Le Smoking, an evening pantsuit for women that mimicked a man's tuxedo.

Pantsuits were often deprecated as inappropriately masculine clothing for women. For example, until the 1990s, women were not permitted to wear pantsuits in the United States Senate.

Advantages

Proponents name several advantages, including comfort and reducing the need for pantyhose. The most prominent advantage cited, however, is modesty: a woman wearing a pantsuit cannot be a victim of upskirt photography or accidentally expose herself by leaning over or sitting awkwardly.

Prominent adopters

• Angela Merkel, the current Chancellor of Germany is widely known for wearing a number of trouser suits
• Hillary Clinton, who is well known for wearing pantsuits, once referred to her presidential campaign staff as "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits," a play on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
• Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand
• Dana Scully, fictional Special Agent in The X-Files
• Juliet O'Hara, fictional detective in Psych

External links

• Courrèges' pantsuit, from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco