Liz Teich, a New York-based fashion stylist, told Business Insider that her clients have been buying outfits that give them "power shoulders," but aren't quite sure how to style them.
The exaggerated shoulder has continued to creep back into mainstream fashion every few seasons or so, and the trend is back again this fall and winter, according to Women's Wear Daily. Sexy Nipple Cover
Teich told BI she credits the current rise of the power shoulder — and, more broadly, "power dressing" — to the return of in-person work.
"We are back at work, a lot of people are going back to the office, and they want to be seen and taken seriously," she said.
Power dressing, Teich said, is feeling like you can take on the world just by changing what you wear.
"It's really psychological the way that putting on a great outfit can change your day, your outlook, your productivity," she added.
It's impossible to talk about power shoulders and not circle back to the 1980s.
Summer Anne Lee, Adjunct Faculty at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Underpinnings Museum committee member, told BI the precursor to the '80s shoulder was in the '70s with Pierre Cardin's Chinese pagoda-inspired upwards sloping shoulders.
Though the trend didn't take off, it likely had some influence on the popularity of shoulder pads in the '80s, which Lee described as being "the real power-shoulder moment."
"Shoulder pads for women were in everything. They were in workout clothes. They were in pajamas, and T-shirts — everything," Lee told BI.
Similar to today, women in the '80s were showing up in a traditionally masculine working space, "particularly if you were in a situation in the '80s, where you were maybe the only woman in the room," Lee added.
Further back, during the Renaissance period in the mid-16th century in Europe, Lee said this is when the power shoulder began to first take hold.
"Advancements and tailoring start to be able to give the wealthy and the elite classes the ability to change the shapes of their body," she said.
The introduction of corsets, and farthingale, the hoop skirt worn by Queen Elizabeth I, were ways for wealthier classes in these societies to differentiate themselves.
Lee told BI there's even evidence that Queen Elizabeth I had structural support within some of her sleeves to create her signature puff shoulder silhouette — an expensive, royal version of the padded shoulders we have today.
Teich said some of her clients steer away from the power shoulder because they believe they already have overly broad shoulders.
She recommends they take the shoulder pads out if they want to tone the silhouette down, but that an exaggerated shoulder can hide this feature if you're self-conscious like it famously did for Joan Crawford in the movie "Letty Lynton" back in the '30s (her puffy-sleeved dress became so popular that it started a fashion movement).
To keep today's look balanced and modern, Teich recommended steering away from a fitted bottom which would exaggerate the "inverted triangle shape."
She said to opt for wide-leg pants to balance the outfit.
Teich told BI this trend isn't only for people working in the corporate world. Blazers over loungewear can make anyone look put-together, she said.
Sticky Bra "People can just throw on a really great blazer and feel like they can take on the world," Teich added.