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Suits you! -

Model Christy Turlington wearing a Giorgio Armani single-breasted pinstriped pantsuit. Consisting of pants and a coordinating coat or jacket, pantsuit fashion has been around for over 100 years.   

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The masculine look -

Ellen DeGeneres is nearly always seen in a pantsuit, or a variation of menswear. The award-winning show host identifies with a more masculine look and cuts a refined and sophisticated figure.

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You gotta hand it to her -

Christina Aguilera performs on stage during her 'Back to Basics' tour in 2006. Her costumes included this ivory-colored pantsuit, an obvious hit with the guys. 

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Striding out -

Kim Kardashian strides out in a blue pinstriped pantsuit on her way to attend the Forbes Women's Summit, hosted in New York City. 

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Street scene -

Victoria Beckham in full flow wearing a grey wide-leg pinstriped trouser suit and trademark sunglasses. 

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Floral -

Rita Ora positively blossoms in this colorful floral-print pantsuit.

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When it all started -

Back in the day, stage actress Sarah Bernhardt starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Aware of her image from an early age, Bernhardt made sure she was seen wearing the latest fashion trends, and this included the then-daring trouser suit. 

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Amelia Bloomer (1818–1894) -

The noted American women's rights and temperance advocate Amelia Bloomer is forever associated with the women's clothing reform style known as Bloomers. 

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Bloomers -

The costume that became known as the Bloomer was in fact created by fellow activist Elizabeth Smith Miller. The garment—loose trousers gathered at the ankles topped by a short dress or skirt—was designed to allow women a greater feeling of comfort and more freedom of movement. Amelia Bloomer began to wear the costume and promoted it enthusiastically in 'The Lily,' the newspaper she owned and published.  

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Mary Edwards Walker (1832–1919) -

Abolitionist, prohibitionist, and keen supporter of the women's suffrage movement, Dr. Mary Walker was infamous for contesting traditional female fashion. She often dressed as a man and was criticized and ridiculed for her lifestyle choices. 

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Knickerbocker -

Traditionally men's or boys' baggy-kneed trousers, the knickerbocker was adopted by women in the early 20th century.

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Trousers and dungarees -

In this 1920's photo shoot, models wear flared overalls and trousers with floral and zigzag trimmings—forerunners of the more coordinated pantsuit designs that were to come. 

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Tea gown -

It's a shame this 1928 photograph is not in color. It features a jazz tissue tea gown—a tight-sleeved coat lined with blue georgette and featuring brass ball buttons—with matching pants. 

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Head-turning -

A resident of Minneapolis replete in a pantsuit cuts an incongruous figure in 1935 as other women stroll by in fur coats and dresses. 

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Betrousered -

Meanwhile, across the other side of the Atlantic, a betrousered lady feeds the pigeons in London's Trafalgar Square. By the mid-1930s this style of dress had become increasingly popular—and socially accepted. 

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Marlene Dietrich -

Wearing a beret and carrying gloves, screen legend Marlene Dietrich jauntily strolls along Hollywood attired in a grey men's suit, with a turtle-neck sweater. The German-born actress was an early advocate of the pantsuit. 

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Greta Garbo -

Greta Garbo, replete in a silk pantsuit, poses on a section of the Great Wall of China in a scene from the film 'The Painted Veil' (1934).

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Wartime -

The outbreak of World War II in Europe saw an increase in the popularity of cycling due to fuel rationing. This in turn led to dressmakers and tailors creating clothes suitable for women riding a bike. Soon the trouser suit, plain but practical, became the vogue for ordinary working women across the continent.  

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Lauren Bacall -

Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall sitting cross-legged in a pantsuit. Bacall's sultry looks led to an early career as a teenage fashion model and she quickly ended up on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, as well as in magazines such as Vogue. 

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Well suited -

Wearing a red wool slack suit emblazoned with an eagle figure, as well as a white shirt and ash turban, this model typifies an early 1940's look that reinvented the pantsuit from the previous decade. 

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The 1950s -

Actress Janet Leigh pictured a few years before her appearance in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' (1960), modeling a shimmering vanilla pantsuit. 

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Audrey Hepburn -

The epitome of style and grace, Audrey Hepburn is seen here reclining in a black pantsuit for the film 'Sabrina' (1954). 

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The 1960s -

Actress Mia Farrow wearing a tweed pantsuit with patch pockets together with a dark green Loden cloth cape by Yves Saint-Laurent Rive Gauche. The picture was taken in 1967.

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The countryside weekend squire -

The mid-1960s saw the tweed trouser suit find favor with many fashion-conscious women. Here, a model wears a matching tweed knickerbockers and a fitted jacket. Long socks and a Tyrolean style hat complete the countryside weekend squire look.

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Fashion statement -

In 1966, Yves Saint-Laurent stunned the fashion world with his Le Smoking, an evening trouser suit for women that mimicked a man's tuxedo. Yves Saint-Laurent effectively reinvented the pantsuit for the modern era.   

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Variation on a theme -

Such was the impact made by the pantsuit that even industrial designers tried their luck in the rag trade. This model is wearing a Barre Silk Organza pantsuit with a "high-frequency radiation receptor belt," and cantilever-heeled shoes, all created by George Sakier (1897–1988), better known for his range of glassware.  

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Cultural influences -

Vogue model, style icon, and photographer David Bailey's muse, Penelope Tree wears a Chairman Mao-influenced trouser suit made of shantung silk with brass buttons down the front on a Paris street in 1967. 

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The ruff look -

In 1968, French fashion designer Michel Goma took a black velvet tunic with white ruff and matched it with black velvet pants, both bound with grosgrain ribbon, to create a pantsuit puritan look.  

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Ossie Clark -

A model wearing a satin three-piece party trouser suit created by British fashion designer Ossie Clark. While Yves Saint-Laurent is generally credited with introducing trouser suits in 1966, Clark had in fact created something similar two years earlier. 

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Swinging Sixties -

English models Sara Crichton-Stuart and Twiggy pictured in the 1960s. Sara wears a purple trouser suit with a turquoise-blue accent, while Twiggy wears a creamy yellow creation accented with tomato red, both by Simon Massey.

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Fashion TV -

English actress Diana Rigg models a wool trouser suit called "Blackboard," designed by John Bates for her role in the 1960's British television series 'The Avengers.'

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Mary Quant -

A huge name in 1960's British fashion, Mary Quant combined English and American style trends to create a wide-legged trouser suit with waistcoat topped with a cowboy hat.

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By appointment -

Queen Elizabeth II talks with a group of miners during a pause in drilling at Yellowknife, in Canada's Northwest Territories, during a royal visit in 1970. The British monarch wasn't demonstrating a penchant for trouser suits. Rather, she was attired this way as a protection against black flies. 

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Pantsuit revolution -

The 1970s saw pantsuits cut to an increasingly flared leg. Bright colors prevailed, and floral print sashes became a required accessory. 

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Baggy trousers -

A 1970 trouser suit by Yves Saint-Laurent in stone gabardine with a double-breasted jacket, green crepe-de-chine shirt and stone felt hat. 

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Smart-casual -

In this image taken in 1971 by celebrated British fashion photographer David Bailey, the model wears a brown and beige wool tweed trouser suit and belted turtleneck with a gold buckle by Oscar de la Renta, as well as yellow gloves by Van Raalte. The hat is by Larry Kane for Raffles Wear. 

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The 1980s -

English singer and actress Toyah Willcox pictured in 1980 at the height of the New Romantics pop culture movement wearing a red trouser suit with a fingerprint motif. Her outfit is a retro nod back to the Bloomers worn in the 19th century. 

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Going out in style -

Diana, Princess of Wales was an international fashion icon, and everything she wore came under close scrutiny. Looking relaxed and confident, she's pictured here in 1988 wearing a green Hackett waistcoat and a Catherine Walker trouser suit and bow tie.

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1990s -

Kate Moss on the runway modeling a Chanel ready-to-wear trouser suit. 

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Giorgio Armani -

Model Cindy Crawford walking two dogs in a driveway away from a white convertible car and wearing a navy pantsuit with white gloves by Giorgio Armani. 

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Modeling menswear -

Model Linda Evangelista, swinging on the tall gates of Beaufort Castle in Scotland, wearing a double-breasted plaid menswear suit by OMO Norma Kamali and a darker cotton plaid shirt by Brooks Brothers. 

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Pantsuit in the Senate -

In 1993, US Senators Barbara Mikulski and Carol Moseley Braun defied a long-standing rule when each wore pants on the floor of the United States Senate. Pictured is Mikulski (back row, center) and Moseley Braun (front row, left) with fellow Democrat Senators Patty Murray, Barbara Boxer, and Dianne Feinstein. Incidentally, Moseley Braun was the first female African American Senator, and the first African American US Senator for the Democratic Party. 

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Pantsuit Nation -

Former First Lady Hillary Clinton waits to depart with husband Bill Clinton after a Democratic Business Leaders event. During the 2016 presidential election, the pantsuit became a symbolic rallying cry among supporters of Hillary Clinton. This was in part due to the influence of a Facebook group of 2.9 million Hillary supporters called Pantsuit Nation. 

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Photo-call -

Actress Camryn Manheim of 'The Practice' fame looking smart in a pantsuit while making a mock telephone call.  

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Today's fashion -

Today's fashion designers still draw on inspiration from the late 19th century to create trouser suits. Here, a model walks the runway during the Stella McCartney show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2017-2018. 

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Women wear the trousers -

Queen Letizia of Spain in formal attire during a royal engagement in Madrid. The fashion-conscious wife of King Felipe VI often chooses to wear trouser suits on official visits. 

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Glamorous -

Actress Adwoa Aboah (left) and model Cara Delevingne attend Glamour Women Of The Year 2016 in Hollywood. 

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The coordinated look -

Actress Zoey Deutch photographed in 2020 at Build Studio, New York City.

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Eye-catching -

Shahadi Wright Joseph—the voice for Young Nala in the 2019 'The Lion King' remake—attends the Vanity Fair and Lancôme Women in Hollywood celebration at Soho House, London.  

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Royal ascent -

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in a trouser suit attending the WellChild Awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, in 2018.  

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Making a statement -

American singer-songwriter and actress Beth Ditto strikes a typically flamboyant pose in a floral pantsuit at the Elle Style Awards in London.

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Pantsuit personality -

Lady Gaga's own take on the pantsuit reflects her seemingly effortless ability to reinvent herself on an almost daily basis. 

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Stylish -

Cate Blanchett's wardrobe includes dozens of different trouser suits. The actress is seen here attending a photo-call during the 13th Rome Film Fest, Italy, in 2018. 

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Suited and booted -

Jodie Foster has attended numerous premiers and showbiz events dressed in pantsuits. Here she is attending the American Film Institute's 47th Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute To Denzel Washington at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. 

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Costume change -

Britney Spears performing during the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. 

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A flag-waver for fashion -

Scarlett Johansson pictured on the set of 'Rough Night' (2017) filming on the steps of City Hall in Mt. Vernon, New York. 

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Stepping out -

Just another night out in New York City for Beyoncé, this time wearing a figure-hugging fuchsia pantsuit. 

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Back to front -

Catwalk models dressed in jumpsuits at the Roberto Verino show during Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Madrid. The design of the jumpsuit evolved from the pantsuit. 

See also: Bad things we've forgotten about the '90s

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