Modern tailoring: lose the shoulder pads, keep the structure

The difference between today's tailoring and the 1980s power suit is one word: ease. On July 24, 1975, Giorgio Armani and Sergio Galeotti founded the company in Milan and showed men's and women's lines for the same season. What Armani did was take the jacket apart, removing stiff canvas and heavy padding so it moved with the body.

In American Gigolo (1980) Richard Gere pulls open a drawer of folded Armani shirts, labels up, and the soft suit had its moment. The road from shoulder pads to that scene is in power suit history. This piece is about wearing it.

Trousers weren't allowed until 1993

A fact for scale: until 1993, women could not wear trousers on the floor of the US Senate. That year Senators Barbara Mikulski and Carol Moseley Braun walked on in pants anyway. The Sergeant-at-Arms, Martha S. Pope, amended the rule: trousers were fine as long as a jacket came with them. The jacket has always been the piece that makes the rest count.

Three ways to wear it

Office: a fitted jacket, straight trousers, loafers. A matching set in a neutral is the safest version.

Weekend: an oversized jacket, a white T-shirt, wide trousers. The soft layer takes the edge off the shoulder line.

Evening: the jacket over a silk top, with heels. One well-cut jacket turns three plain pieces into an outfit.

Modern tailoring: a matched suit in a neutral, gender-neutral cut

Three things to check on the jacket

  • Shoulder seam. It should sit on the point of your shoulder. Too wide looks heavy; too narrow loses the structure.
  • Waist. Slightly shaped, not tight. This decides whether the jacket reads stiff or sharp.
  • Length. Mid-hip is the most flexible. With wide trousers you can go shorter.

Why the gender-neutral cut looks more current

Today's jackets get their shape from the pattern rather than from padding. A cut that ignores gender turns out to be the more flexible one: sharp or relaxed depending on what's under it. A good jacket is worth buying as a long-term piece; the criteria are in the quiet luxury wardrobe.

Colour and accessories

Navy, grey, black: still the three safe colours. For personality, add a silk scarf, a brooch or a structured bag. Detail does the talking; the colour stays quiet.

"The 1993 Senate rule was: trousers allowed, jacket required. Thirty years on, the jacket is still the piece that makes everything else count." — Guushu Design Team