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Something I don't think we've ever talked about is C-suite style for women — what are the best tips for stylish power dressing for women in the C-suite? Where should women executives shop? And how much does any of this matter?
General Tips on C-Suite Style for Women
I'll say it up front: If you're in the C-suite, you've earned the right to dress however you want. In fact, you often see executive women at the very top having fairly non-traditional styles, like colorful moto jackets and other styles that might be a “know your office” kind of thing for a more junior employee. But you're the boss, and it's OK for you to set the tone that others follow.
If you want to look polished, tailoring would be a good use of your money. It's famously been said that absolutely everything on television is tailored, down to plain white T-shirts — and tailoring can make a huge difference with blazers, dresses, pants, and more.
{related: what stylish women get tailored}
In fact, I would view all of your purchases through the lens of tailoring — if you need a new pair of pants, for example, do you need a $100 pair or a $1,000 pair? After all, a $100 pair of black pants doesn't look so different than a $1,000 pair of black pants. However, the $1,000 pair was probably designed with tailoring in mind, so the seams and fabrics will better survive and last after tailoring, whereas the $100 pair of black pants probably has some stretch in them because they're designed to be worn off the rack (or are so trendy they're not intended to last more than a year or two), and stretchy fabric is often harder to tailor well. So assess for yourself which clothes fit you the best — it's OK if they're affordable ones! — and discuss with your tailor what alterations will make the biggest impact overall for your wardrobe, and buy accordingly.
Details and accessories matter more than head-to-toe designer outfits. For example, an Hermès scarf or Cartier watch will elevate any outfit, no matter whether the other wardrobe pieces are affordable ones. I would think that authenticity matters, though — if you're often in meetings with other high-achieving, wealthy people, then they will probably know the difference between a Hermès vs. a knockoff or a “similar” dupe. Spend money on good jewelry, shoes, and belts.
Other details to consider: haircuts and underpinnings. Bras should be replaced every 6–9 months, both for comfort and maximum effect (whatever you want them to do, they're going to be doing it more at the beginning of their life, whether it's minimizing, pushing up, etc.). Your hairstyle doesn't have to be anything in particular — curly hair, gray hair, long hair, and natural hair are all OK — but your hair should be flattering and look intentional. (A fabulous stylist who you see as often as needed is another great use of your money!)
In terms of bags, you're welcome to spend money on great bags, but I'm not sure you need an amazing briefcase like a man might. In fact, I've often been amused that some of the highest powered women I've known have used either preppy L.L.Bean-type totes, or — the real power move — a huge tote bag from a charity that you only get as a pretty major donor. (But then, this is for the commute to work, and not for VIP meetings or court.)
I would argue that the overall look you want to convey is a person who is smart, up to date, well informed, and aware of everything in your orbit, including how you present yourself to the world.
But again: You've earned the right to dress how you like!
Readers, what are your thoughts? How do the most powerful women you know dress? Is there a difference if they're in the C-suite, a partner, or an owner?
Where to Shop: C-Suite Style Advice for Women
If you did want to know where to spend money on particular things, here are some of the more expensive brands that we recommend for workwear often — and if you have a big clothing budget for your work wardrobe, here's where I'd start.
The Best Luxe Brands for Workwear
If you had an unlimited budget and wanted to spend it on a killer work wardrobe, where would you start? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
These are my picks for where I'd shop if money was no object…
- cashmere: InHabit NY, Loro Piana, Akris, TSE, Brora, & Eric Bompard
- basic blazers: Smythe, McQueen, L'Agence, Veronica Beard, The Fold, Armani
- dramatic blazers for speaking/Big Days: Akris, The Fold, IRO, L'Agence, Smythe, Etro, and Ray Darten (we've also done a roundup of dramatic blazers you can buy at Etsy!)
- Chanel-style jackets: Chanel, St. John, IRO, L’Agence, Sandro
- dresses: Roland Mouret, Victoria Beckham, DVF, Akris, St. John, Burberry
- pants: Lafayette 148 New York, Theory, Akris, St. John
- coats: Fleurette, Cinzia Rocca, Mackage
- bags: Loewe, Bottega Venetta
- jewelry: Ylang 23, Bergdorf Goodman,
- shoes: Ferragamo, Manolo, Choo, Valentino, Louboutin (but please know your office before considering thick platforms or 4″+ heels), Aquazzura, Sarah Flint, Prada, and Miu Miu (one of the favorites in our Newbie Guide to Designer Shoes)
- weatherproof shoes: Aquatalia, La Canadienne
Specific Classic Styles from Luxe Brands for Workwear
The Best Designer Heels for Women
Pictured above, some of the most classic designer heels for women: 1) Choo 2) Manolo 3) Prada 4) Valentino 5) Louboutin
Investment Flats for Women
The Best Investment Totes and Briefcases for Women
As I've noted before, a lot of the VIP women I've known tend to use charity bags (e.g., bags you get from donating a high amount of money or attending a gala) to move their stuff from place to place; it's also hard to be a huge boat tote from Lands' End — think of it as Hamptons style.
But – if you're hunting for “investment totes” for a splurge, some brands to consider include these:
As of 2024, some of our latest favorite luxury work bags (large enough to hold papers and a laptop!) include Bottega Veneta, Mulberry, Saint Laurent, Kaai, and DeMellier. Of course, note that a lot of our readers who are in big jobs note that they love their (more affordable) Lo & Sons bags, as well as their Tumi.
The Best Designer Suits for Women
Some of the usual suspects for basic designer suits include McQueen, Altuzarra, The Row (this and this), Akris, Michael Kors, and Veronica Beard. Recent favorites include:
The Best Luxe Statement Blazers for Women Executives
Hunting for a luxe statement blazer? 2024 favorites include Smythe, include McQueen, L'Agence, Veronica Beard, The Fold, Armani, and Anine Bing.
Luxe Plus-Size Workwear for Women Executives
Designer plus-size clothing for professional women can be hard to find, so this list has a pretty broad definition of “designer”…
These are some of the best spots for designer plus-size clothing as of 2024… admittedly, a fairly broad interpretation because this category is such a narrow one! Our favorite spots for work outfit shopping are in bold!
- 11 Honoré (now owned by Dia & Co. – still some stock of DVF, Marina Rinaldi, Tanya Taylor, etc.)
- Able Clothing
- Adrianna Papell
- Amour 781 (boutique of different brands; limited options up to 5X)
- Anthropologie
- BAACAL (limited options up to size 28)
- Bleusalt (limited options up to size 3X)
- Dia & Co. (subscription service)
- Hours
- Hackwith Design House
- Gravitas
- Jibri
- Karen Millen
- Kiyonna (sizes 0X–5X)
- Lafayette 148 New York
- LaLigne (XS-3X)
- MadeTrade
- Mara Hoffman (XS-3X)
- Marina Rinaldi/Persona by Marina Rinaldi
- Navabi
- Nic + Zoe
- Of Mercer
- Pari Passu
- Pomp (Power Of My People)
- Poplinen
- PLVSH Style (subscription service)
- Rachel Pally
- Rita Phil Custom Fashion (custom skirts)
- Simone Aviv
- Summersalt (up to 2X)
- Tanya Taylor (00-22)
- TielDorein (Etsy store)
- Universal Standard
- Veronica Beard (00-24, but some warn that 24 = 20W)
- VigilanteLabs (Etsy store, custom suits for women)
- Vince (great for basics!)
- Wildfang (up to XXL)
Stock photo via Deposit Photos / AndrewLozovyi.
Anon
Hi! I’ll be traveling to Tuscany and Venice in late September/early October and hope to pack lighter than usual with travel dresses that can dry overnight. So what are some of your favorites? Looking for at least knee length (on 5’2’ me) and styles that allow for regular bras (no racer backs or spaghetti straps). TIA Ciao!
Cat
Check out athleisure brands – Athleta, Lulu, Zella, etc – all have dresses made of tech fabric that would be easy to hang dry. Outdoor Voices maybe?
Senior Attorney
Well you just sent me down a rabbit hole and I found some nice ones at Royal Robbins dot com.
Anon
Thank you both for the recs!
Anonymous
Look at dresses made in merino or silk as well. Merino can be aired out (and dries quickly if you do wash it) and silk dries super quickly. REI has a couple of nice wool ones from Icebreaker, and &Other Stories has silk and silk blend dresses.
Wheels
I second this recommendation. Looks nicer, simple to hand wash in a sink, and not made of microplastics.
LoudyTourky
I’m a big fan of Karina dresses for travel. They do not wrinkle, dry quickly, work with regular bras, and some styles have pockets. I have several and wear them to work.
Anon
Old Navy has a great activewear dress, about $50 on sale, lots of colors, very highly rated. It has a shelf bra that I would cut out and wear with a regular bra. Regular, petite and tall sizing.
Amy
Leota — their dresses roll up small in your packing cubes, dry quickly, and seem to not wrinkle.
anon
We are in a complicated era even for c-suite dressing, but in general, every company I know is significantly less formal now. At my (Fortune 50) company, all the c-suite men generally turn up in prestige polo shirts (i.e., with the logo of an expensive/exclusive golf club vs. a Brooks Brothers logo), fleece vests, etc. You get some men in button down shirts with jackets, but the sport coat is more common than the suit now and ties are rare beasts. Our c-suite women also trend more business casual or smart casual now. I’m much more likely to see our c-suite women in black pants, an interesting structured top, and flats than in a business dress and heels (in fact, I rarely see heels on them at all). The exception is speaking engagements/press appearances, which are a bit dressier. And everyone wears Apple Watches now (I love my Cartier watch, but it’s been in a drawer for two years).
I’m a GC of an operating sub of my company, and I not-infrequently wear jeans to work now, albeit with a pretty blouse and jewelry.
Anon
Yes, heels are rare these days from what I’ve seen (a trend I’m very happy with).
Anonymous
Kind of an odd pic to use since it seems like maybe that woman is not wearing a shirt ?
Anon
I know, right!?
Anon
I want that cream blazer from the woman in the middle.
anonshmanon
Miranda hired me – she knows what I look like!
Anon
From what I have seen at the C-suite level, polish often matters more than strict formality of the clothes. Makeup, hair, and jewelry are on-point, whether the woman is wearing a traditional suit, slacks and a wrap top, or an expensive collarless jacket over perfectly tailored wool pants.
Anon
I’m always amazed at the times things are expected to last that I see here. If I pay $100 for pants, I definitely expect them to last more than a year or two. Granted, I’m flat chested enough I could probably get by without a bra in a lot of cases, but I’ve always found my bras to work perfectly well for several years.
Cat
yeah, that line landed oddly with me, too. I def have multiple pairs of $100 pants (well ok probably priced at $168 at JCrew but actually $60 by the time I bought them on markdown) that are between 6-8 years old. (They’re all ankle pants so might get phased out based on style faster than actually wearing out!)
Anonymous
I don’t think I could afford to replace all my bras every six months. I try to keep three light colored, three dark colored, and three sports bras and they’re all over $60 each because of the sizing. I usually replace one of each ever year so I always have some that are less than a year old. If the oldest ones are still good, they stay in rotation for days when it matters less.
Anonymous
I don’t think The Fold can be considered luxe. They have great ideas and lots of great-looking garments, but a lot of the fabrics are not luxe in my opinion, too polyester heavy, and acetate linings.
I’d nominate Victoria Beckham as suitable for C-Suite, though.
Anon
This is an especially important topic for BIPOC women and women who don’t come from money, regardless of race.
I’m Indigenous and have long been involved in Tribal politics so I’ve often represented my Tribe in meetings with members of the non-Native community (politicians, business owners, university execs, nonprofit execs, etc.).
In the beginning I was frequently treated with condescension, as if I should feel lucky to be allowed into a room full of powerful rich white people inside of a building that sits on my Tribe’s homeland. I’m usually one of the youngest people in the room, so that didn’t help either.
In my professional life I work with a lot of high earning people who come from a mix of economic backgrounds. I looked at how BIPOC women executives dressed and searched for recurring themes in brands, colors, and silhouettes. I grew up working class so I didn’t know the brands at first, but if I spotted a good example out in the wild I’d make note of the logo and then google until I’d tracked down the brand.
I bought a few things off of a luxury resale site and started wearing them to meetings. I bought a few blazers, a couple designer bags, and a few pairs of shoes. With all of my purchases I eschewed bold logos and went for a stealth wealth look. My goal is that people who don’t care about this stuff see my purse and think “yep that’s a purse” but my fellow fashion nerds and the people who use stupid metrics to decide how to treat people think “Bottega Veneta.”
I also upgraded from cardigans to blazers for all meetings (business dress trends casual in my city so most women stick to cardigans or nice blouses).
It sounds so stupid and fake but I immediately saw a change in how non-Native people treated me in those meetings. I’m sure part of that came from my increased confidence, but I’ve received enough compliments on my talismans of legitimacy that I do believe they make a tangible difference. Development directors are especially good at spotting them and multiple times I’ve seen a shift in how other people in the room treat me after the development director compliments my bag or my shoes.
I’ve discussed this with other ambitious BIPOC women who operate in majority white settings and I’m definitely not the only one who strategically dresses to command old rich white people’s respect.
Anonymous
Great post. “Talismans of legitimacy” is my new favorite phrase.