Women’s Business Attire Curves Around Those Old Boxy Styles

Poor John T. Molloy. His “Woman’s Dress for Success Book” has gone the way of pouf dresses.

When he tackled the subject of business attire 12 years ago, he had no idea what strides women would make in the work force. Today, the Molloy monster--a uniform with boxy jacket and blouse with floppy bow tie--has all but bitten the dust.

Women’s ideas of what office attire should look like are shaped by media and fashion stars such as anchorwoman Diane Sawyer, actress Candice Bergen of the TV sitcom “Murphy Brown,” and the working woman’s champion designer, Donna Karan. They all look brainy, accomplished and undeniably feminine, but not aggressive.

For L.A.’s desk set, there are only three cardinal sins: too tight, too short or donning denim.

Dingy sneakers with office clothes are a thing of the past--those who can’t handle heels are wearing classic, flat leather shoes. And though color is perfectly acceptable, the choices most business women make are far from madcap. They stick to the classics--practical navy, pale gray, bright red, Kelly green, pale yellow and, primarily, black. The newest omnipresent neutral is a sophisticated olive drab that has nothing to do with safari styles. It’s the type of gray-green seen lately on Armani’s runway in Milan or in a man’s closet.

Women have borrowed other elements of the male executive’s look--quality fabrics, minimal detailing, neat haircuts and a minimum of jewelry.

But as one woman notes, borrowing and imitating are two different things.

“Women don’t feel that they have to conform. They don’t have to look like a man,” says Maxine Miller, a former attorney who is now a real estate developer. “A lot of how you dress tells your status, but it is all right now to look feminine.”

Based on observations of the Downtown lunch crowds, the most popular looks are:

* The streamlined double-breasted coat dress with several strands of pearls (not, however, the piled-on Chanel-imitation multistrand mess).

* The neat and shapely black suit in which the jacket is either single-breasted and collarless or double-breasted with gold buttons, and the skirt is always “business length,” or just above the knee.

* The loose navy suit, usually composed of a long, fluid pleated skirt and crisp tailored jacket.

* The unmatched suit, such as a quiet glen plaid jacket and a solid skirt, or a slightly oversized navy blazer over neat tailored pants or a narrow skirt.

* The slim, but not tight, tailored dress.