Top Spring Wardrobe Tips For Working Women

Enlarge Photo Top Spring Wardrobe Tips For Working Women

Sat, Mar 29 09:00 AM

There's good news for working women tired of staid suits. Designers are creating knee-grazing, tailored skirts, stylish dresses and feminine jackets and pants that are changing the definition of acceptable office wear.

"Lady-like dressing is back," says David Wolfe, creative director of The Doneger Group, a fashion merchandising and consulting firm. "I don't think that these looks are what we usually think of as power dressing, but that whole perception is changing."

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Nanette Lepore is helping bring about that change. She was one of the first contemporary designers to introduce modern, feminine and fashionable suits to the market several years ago.

"[Suits] no longer have to be 'bla' and mannish. Nobody feels good when they dress like that," she says. "When it's your daily uniform, you need to feel good, you need a sexy silhouette. Women want to feel powerful. You can't do that in a dumpy, frumpy suit."

Pretty Pieces At New York Fashion Week last month, Lepore sent models down the runway in form-fitting, ruffled pencil skirts, feminine pantsuits and tops and dresses adorned with Chantilly lace.

"Shorter, fitted jackets are more flattering and create a sophisticated look when worn with a high-neck blouse," says Lepore. "It's more about bringing your eye up. Anything long and droopy just elongates the torso, and that doesn't work if you have shorter legs."

Is it too much effort to try and coordinate an outfit while getting the kids to school and answering your e-mail? Suits still have a place in your closet. They'll just be "classic tailored pants with a more feminine shaped jacket," says Wolfe.

This new take on the pantsuit gives women more options than before, including high-waisted trousers with a slightly cropped jacket, or a short-sleeved, cinched-waist jacket with wide-leg trousers, like the one shown on the spring runways by Oscar De La Renta and Lepore.

Bow-front, high-necked and embroidered silk blouses are a sophisticated compliment to this season's high-waisted skirts and trousers. Ruffle-front variations on the trend are also chic and feminine.

Women who avoid pants altogether will be happy to hear that this is the year of the dress. That's according to Bergdorf Goodman personal shopper Betty Halbreich.

"Women today work out more than ever," she says, "[and] they want to show off their shape with well-fitting, flattering clothing even at work."

Donna Karan this season picked up on the current tailoring trend and mixed it with full skirts for a feminine, belted linen and viscose coat dress that falls below the knee.

Of course, every well-dressed woman needs a trendy topper. You might look fabulous and successful in your new spring power suit, but a shabby or outdated coat can ruin the whole effect. An updated trench is the perfect finishing touch.

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