With the Baftas coming up this weekend and the Oscars just a few weeks away, we are currently in the thick of red-carpet dress season. So how refreshing it was to see Nicole Kidman offering something of a sartorial reprieve on Sunday evening (particularly following the devastating tragedy of the Los Angeles wildfires last month), as she arrived at the Critics Choice Awards wearing a mannish suit by none other than Yves Saint Laurent, inventor of the tuxedo for women.
Channelling her inner Annie Hall, Kidman’s slightly oversized beige suit was a masterclass in how to make suiting look feminine and chic, with a nipped-in waist balanced by shoulder pads, and wide-leg trousers featuring pleats on the hips. Styled with the sleeves slightly rolled up, and worn with a blue and white striped shirt and black and white tie underneath, her suit was accessorised with gold jewellery including chunky bangles and rings by Roberto Coin. Following her critically acclaimed turn in Babygirl, in which she plays a chief executive who has an affair with a younger intern, there was an element of “method” dressing to the look too.
As well as at Saint Laurent, other designers leading the charge into suiting for women this season include Victoria Beckham and Tom Ford, who are both known for their sapiosexual approach to dressing to one degree or another. At Victoria Beckham’s show, models were sent down the runway with their suit jackets stuck to their fronts and their backs on show, as if they were trying them on for size in front of a mirror.
Tom Ford, as ever, stuck to pure sex: think Bianca Jagger-esque three-piece suits with nothing underneath, in 1970s-feel cuts with wide legs, wide lapels and an insouciant attitude.
Indeed, in many ways, a woman wearing a suit has always been seen as inherently sexy, not least for its suggestion of upending societal norms. It’s a quintessentially rock ’n’ roll move. Perennial suit icon Marlene Dietrich was famous for scandalising the public in the 1930s when she wore a suit on board the ocean liner Europa, even being warned she would be arrested if she continued to wear men’s clothing upon her arrival in Paris.
A few decades later, when Saint Laurent invented Le Smoking in 1966, he was quoted as saying that: “A woman wearing a suit is anything but masculine. A strict, clean cut accentuates her femininity, her seductiveness, her ambiguity.” Yet the public and the press reacted predominantly with shock and outrage at the design – the actress Françoise Hardy was even heckled for wearing her Le Smoking suit to the Paris opera, while some restaurants and hotels barred entry to women wearing them.
It’s this sense of subversiveness that Sarah Corbett-Winder, stylist and founder of Kipper Club, thinks is most appealing about suits for women. “I recently worked out why a suit is so fab and it’s because we’re wearing something meant for a man,” she explains. “It’s exciting and it feels wrong, thus it feels right!”
Unsure of how to make a suit work for you? It’s all in the cut, explains fashion designer and suit-lover Alex Eagle. “Our suits have a looser, cooler fit than your traditional male suit,” she explains. “It’s that relaxed cool girl attitude. I’m always inspired by the minimalist designs of the ’90s.”
“A silhouette that is strong but encompassing of modern femininity is key,” explains Daisy Knatchbull, founder of suiting brand Knatchbull. “One that highlights the beautiful soft shape of a woman’s body through the curvature of the waist. A suit that celebrates the female form. Prioritising well-made pieces that form the outfit’s foundation is key.”
Of course, it’s all about how you style them too, with what you wear with your suit just as important as the suit itself. And while Kidman can pull off an Annie Hall style shirt and tie, it’s not a look for everyone or every occasion.
“Adding a simple but elevated basic, whether that be a shirt, silk camisole, white T-shirt or bodysuit, will help finesse the look and allow the suit to do its best work,” explains Knatchbull.
“There are easy ways to dress up a suit to feel more feminine,” agrees Eagle. “You could wear a ribbed vest or a silk and lace top underneath the jacket, or a shirt with the top buttons undone to show off the décolletage, or with a three-piece suit, you could wear nothing under the waistcoat.”
Accessories are key too, not to mention your beauty look. “I love wearing mine with gold jewellery and red lipstick, but you could also do a smoky eye,” says Eagle. “I’ll wear trainers with mine in the day but change into really high heels in the evening and add a clutch bag. A good suit that you feel great in you can wear day to night.”
And don’t think you can’t wear flats – after all, plenty of suiting icons, including Lauren Hutton and Jane Birkin, have championed men’s dress shoes or elegant flat shoes in place of a heel. “I personally am a big fan of a flat shoe – I love to wear a three-piece suit with trainers,” says Knatchbull. “As well as looking good, comfort is also key, and feeling confident in what you wear has to be a consideration. If heels aren’t your thing, own the flat shoe look.”
You could also take your styling cues from Kidman’s friend Naomi Watts, who wore a black pinstripe Celine suit with a pussy bow at the collar for the Producers Guild Awards. Paired with a bold red lip and delicate pearl earrings, she perfectly epitomised why the suit works for so many women – it’s a delicate balance of the masculine and the feminine.
