More Women Are Wearing The Trousers – Literally

Debenhams has seen sales of trouser suits soar by 157% after recent awards ceremonies such as the Baftas and the Oscars. Style icons Cara Delevingne, Kourtney Kardashian, Madonna and Ellen Degeneres have been rocking this trend since the start of the New Year and at several red carpet events.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie kicked off the red carpet trend with his and hers’ tuxedos at the Baftas, followed by Pharrell Williams and wife Helen Lasichanh at the Oscars while Amy Adams turned heads in a striking scarlet ensemble at the awards luncheon.

Head of Womenswear buying for Debenhams Sarah Tennant says: “Trouser suits are definitely back. Sales have been up since January making 2014 officially the year of the trouser suit. Women are enjoying wearing clothes with a masculine edge, but which also highlight the female figure with clever tailoring.”

Pant suits featured strongly on the catwalks of New York, Milan, Paris and London during fashion week as well as being the favoured attire of front row fashionistas. Tennant added: “The trouser suit knows no age limit with admirers of the combo ranging from Cara and Kourtney to Angelina and Joan Collins. It’s a must-have for fashion followers all around the globe, with sales in overseas stores also on the rise.”

Although the look has been a celebrity favourite on the red carpet, it has crossed over into everyday wear with sales of plain black and navy trouser suits along with white shirts increasing by 105%. It was during the 1920s, that the trouser suit was first seen on a growing band of who adopted a masculine style, including pantsuit, hats, and even canes and monocles.

Long trousers as a fashion item for women became more popular in the late 1960s, and over the next 40 years gradually became accepted business wear for women. In 1996 Yves Saint-Laurent introduced his Le Smoking, an evening pantsuit for women that mimicked a man’s tuxedo. Trouser suits were often deprecated as inappropriately masculine clothing for women. For example, until the 1990s, women were not permitted to wear pantsuits in the United States Senate.

A range of trouser suits at Debenhams start from £40 and are available instore and online at www.debenhams.com.