The blazer, often praised as a workwear staple, was feminised in the 1920s by women joining a male-dominated workforce. Today, the versatility of the blazer is adored by the modern woman.
During the early 20th century, with World War I taking men away to the Front and not having fabric to spare, women simply donned their husband's suits and set off to work doing ‘men’s work’ such as factory labour. With dresses being impractical, the utility of the suit was adored by the working women and thus it was adopted into the wardrobes of women ever since. Designers such as Coco Chanel were also allured by the suit and in 1925, in a small show at her salon on the Rue de Cambon, Paris, she introduced her first quintessential tweed jacket. This was inspired by her boyfriend-of-the-time, the Duke of Westminster’s, sports jackets and thus an icon of fashion was born.
Later, in the 1940s, Christian Dior would further develop the DNA of the ‘female suit’ by cinching the waist and upper-feminising the silhouette, much to the disgust of Chanel and others who preferred the straight silhouette introduced by Paul Poiret at the start of the century.
The progressive 1960s welcomed in Second Wave Feminism. Feminist icon Betty Freidan’s best selling The Feminine Mystique rejected the ‘traditional’ notion of femininity as submissive, instead deeming female passivity as something conditioned into women from a young age by a patriarchal society which forced them into the home and kitchen, limiting their opportunities. In rejection of this, an increasing amount of women sought jobs and supported this emancipation from the kitchen by donning suits. The suit then saw lots of additions and tweaks between the 1960s - 2000s to fit or flatter women.
Here at SKYLENCE, we take inspiration from the classic feminine tweed-suits first introduced by Chanel but our blazers’ come in an array of colours with our signature twist of Chinese influence. Our blazers feature beautiful embroideries, hand-made button knots, chic mandarin collars and often utilise luxurious silks, as China is famed for. Through a combination of iconic tweed, feminine silhouettes and a twist of inspiration from Imperial Chinese costume, our elegant and popular blazers were born.
How to style your SKYLENCE blazer
Add a SKYLENCE blazer to any outfit for a touch of elegance - whether it be putting one on over a dress for work or with jeans and t-shirts for a touch of weekend glamour, the versatility of a SKYLENCE blazer elevates any outfit.
Below are some of our favourite recent favourite “As Seen On” looks:
We were so excited to see Kelly Rutherford wearing the
blue Chelsea Tang Tweed Jacket when she kick-started the event for her new new venture The Sovereign Collective (her first foray into business and entrepreneurship) in London last month--She paired the jacket with a simple white summer dress. She was the eptiminy of effortless elegance.
We love how Suzannah, the founder of British vintage womenswear brand
Shruggler, has styled our statement black
Derling Embroidered Jacket for an afternoon tea in St. John’s Wood. She matched the jacket with black jeans, white blouse and fedora hat for a little rock n’roll chic.
We are so happy to see these three creative ‘boss ladies’ wearing SKYLENCE blazers, ready to ride the waves and tackle all the challenges that come their way and empowering them on their journeys to success,.
