The Power Of The Suit

The velvet suit, a piece that somehow makes you feel powerful, like you can conquer anything. It makes you feel like you are on a mission to go and get anything you want in life, and so you should. The suit has always been a powerful and slightly controversial piece, a style that would have once been purely for men, when women would have had to prance around in dresses and skirts, when playing reverse gender roles would have been completely absurd to even talk about let alone condone in the way you dressed. We often forget when choosing what we want to wear each day, the history behind each piece and the women that fought so hard to make it possible for us to wear whatever the hell we want to wear. Coco Chanel's suit completely revolutionised the way in which women could style themselves, she offered them the chance to express to the world who they really wanted to be. She let us juxtapose the idea between masculinity and femininity, she let us feel poweful in what we wear and I can't describe it, but there's something about carrying a hint of masculinity around that's so très belle.

Clothes that make me feel any kind of power are an instant must have to me, nothing beats feeling good in what you are wearing and feeling like you can take on whatever is thrown your way, whether that be as simple as nearly getting your bag stuck in the tube door *yep guilty of that. But is it really our clothes that make us feel powerful, or is it just the realisation that we can shape the way people see us by dressing in clothes that show the world how we want to be seen? The suit, to me is an outfit that tells the world that I want to be taken seriously, as a woman and as a human. It tells the world that I'm out to catch my dreams and be successful, but it also says that I really really love velvet so I'm gonna pile it on as much as I can.

'Clothes aren't going to change the world, the women who wear them will.' 

 Much like feeling powerful in the clothes you put on and the iconic suit, it got me thinking about the current women's marches...something which I wish I could have been a part of. For me watching women and men come together to stand up for what they believe in was incredible, as I know many of you agree. I'm not one to really talk about my political views in general but one thing I will say is how immensely happy it makes me that when women are shown any signs of hatred or misogyny we fight back, we show our power and place in this world and prove that we will not be talked about in such a manner, we will not tolerate it. 

I think the aim to feeling good and powerful is to dress up in clothes that make you feel headstrong, clothes that you feel most yourself in and clothes that represent what you want in life. I never thought I'd fall in love with the suit as much as I have but when paired with velvet it's a hard outfit to say no to. Velvet has been one of the biggest trends for autumn/winter and a trend that takes me back to being an eight year old child again; I used to own this purple velvet mini dress and god it was my favourite thing! The look is expensive and has a certain je ne sais quoi to it that makes you feel powerful, probably because it's such a decadent material. It's safe to say, I am a girl obsessed, and on the hunt for another two-piece that I can strut around London in.

What I'm Wearing:

Jacket: Zara

T-Shirt: Mango

Trousers: Asos

Bag: Mango

Shoes: Mango

Caitlin x 

Photos by Faye Fearon: Instagram/ Twitter /Website