In recent years, the women's suit has moved beyond “trend" status and has cemented itself as a mainstay in most designer collections. Though the concept of the suit is consistent, the technique in which designers choose to construct their version of corresponding separates continues to vary. This season, the dominant silhouette that has emerged from the plethora of options is that of a boxy, cropped blazer and wide-leg, high-waisted trousers.
This fresh configuration, which took up residence on the runways of CHANEL, Vetements, and Paco Rabanne, riffs on the idea of an '80s power suit and even pays a slight homage to the zoot suits of the '40s, but with a cropped blazer versus a long one. In Peter Do's most recent fall '21 collection, the jacket rivaled a bolero in its short silhouette while the waist of the coordinating trousers rose to nearly touch the hem of the blazer. The boxy silhouette of both pieces alludes to the power suit's defining ability to take up a great deal of physical space—part of the reason it was popular in the '80s as women first began to enter corporate America in substantial numbers. However, the break in fabric around the midriff subdues the abrasiveness of the oversize proportions.
A popular style for the coming fall, the bud of this trend began in the preceding spring collections, which gave us an outline of what we should be wearing circa now. The winning combination decorated the collections of Hermès and Tibi, both of whom expanded upon the style by altering the sleeve or pant lengths.
While the runway may have given this winning suit formula its stamp of approval, it is also trickling into other realms of fashion, like many powerful trends do. If you fancy an Instagram tail spin, you'll find that most of the fashion elite are not exactly donning tailored suits at the moment. So the silhouette has morphed into daywear in the form of casual separates—knitwear, shirting, etc. A cropped sweater paired with a metallic cargo pant. A tweed jacket matched with wide-leg denim. Even a blouse tucked into a pant to create the illusion of a cropped top. No matter your style, we've done the work for you by documenting the formal silhouette's foray into the land of the wearable.
A Canadian Tuxedo
Mix and Match Your Separates
Add a Belt to Emphasize the Waist
A Sweater in Lieu of a Jacket
Add Some Leather
Shop a Boxy Crop:
Button Front Cropped Blazer
Savoy Pleated Cotton Cropped Shirt
Lisby Cropped Wool Blend Blazer
Luxe Boxy Crop
Cropped Blazer
Aura Sweatshirt in Light Grey Melange
Cropped Pinstriped Blazer
Topstitched Cropped Blazer
Black ‘Le Polo Santon’ Polo
And a Wide-Leg Pant:
Rounded Cotton Pants
High-Rise Pleated Wide Leg Trousers
Pleated Suit Pants
Ollie Baggy Wide Leg Jeans
Equus Pants
Wide Leg Menswear Style Pant
Catheryn Cotton Blend Wide Leg Pants
Beige Luka Trousers
Duda Linen Pants
Top photo (from left to right): Courtesy of CHANEL; Courtesy of Tibi; Yiru Wang / Courtesy of Peter Do
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