For many women, suits feel constricting and stuffy. But historically, they offered freedom and power—and controversy. However, with Hillary Clinton and her beloved pantsuits taking center stage in 2016, it's been hard to ignore the new case for power dressing. But before we move forward (with perhaps a Madam President in tow), a look back at the history of women wearing suits.
666: The year King Charles II of England copied French king Louis XIV in demanding that men in court wear waistcoats, trousers, and ties. In England, this attire evolved into the modern suit for men.
1870s: The decade actress Sarah Bernhardt scandalized Paris by wearing a custom-made trouser suit, which she called her "boy's clothes." She continued to blur gender roles when she played Hamlet in 1899.
19th: The century European women wore tailored jackets with long skirts, called costumes, for activities such as riding, archery, and walking. Trendsetters adopted them for everyday wear, and by 1905, they were common suits for women.
1914: The year Coco Chanel designed her first suit—a fur-trimmed jacket with a matching ankle-length skirt.
2: The number of 1930s films (Morocco and Blonde Venus) in which Marlene Dietrich wore a tuxedo and top hat while performing on stage.
1940s: The decade pachucas, female members of a Mexican-American subculture, began wearing zoot suits to project a tough, rebellious image. Pachucas were associated not only with male zoot-suited gangs but also with feminism because they rejected the idea that women could be just wives and mothers.
11: The page in Picturegoer magazine in July 1949 on which Katharine Hepburn's style was lauded as a shrewd publicity move: "That slack suit paid for itself several times over—for Katharine Hepburn got special mention in hundreds of different publications. If she'd worn a dress, her name would merely have been listed among the 55 other top stars."
2: The number of characters played by Kim Novak in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. To indicate their different personalities, costumer Edith Head gave Madeleine a somber, sophisticated suit and Judy a tacky bombshell look. Novak initially balked at how confining the suit was but later credited it with helping her performance, saying, "They made that suit very stiff. You constantly had to hold your shoulders back and stand erect. But, oh, that was so perfect."