Time to ditch those dresses, ladies — tuxedos are having a moment.
Actually, they’ve been having a moment, one more than 80 years in the making, thanks in large part to the legacy of Marlene Dietrich.
On Thursday, 86 personal possessions belonging to the legendary actress will be auctioned off, including one of the men’s tuxedos that made her a sartorial icon.
In honor of Dietrich’s ingenious, androgynous flair, here are a few of the greatest champions in women’s suiting history.
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich circa 1930.Photo: Everett Collection
From her earliest roles onward, the German-born actress eschewed gowns for menswear pieces, and was the first major Hollywood star to prove the seductive power of women in pants. The classic black tux and top hat Dietrich donned in her first American film, “Morocco” (1930), became her signature look, and set the tuxedo standard for generations to come.
“I’m sincere in my preference for men’s clothes — I do not wear them to be sensational”, she once said. “I think I am much more alluring in these clothes.”
Katharine Hepburn
Katherine Hepburn circa 1940.Photo: AP; Everett Collection
In the ’40s and ’50s, leading the pack of irreverent actresses was Katharine Hepburn, whose disdain for glamour and public preening matched a penchant for collared shirts, flat shoes and impeccably-fitting suits.
Brigitte Bardot, Bianca Jagger, Grace Jones
From left: Brigitte Bardot, Bianca Jagger, Grace Jones.Photo: Zumapress.com; Getty Images; Ebet Roberts/Redferns/Getty Images
She may have helped solidify the sex kitten cliché, but Brigitte Bardot had style well beyond skimpy bikinis. The French actress, here shopping on the Via Margutta in Rome in 1961, rocked double-breasted suits and ties that put the “Masculin Féminin” in fashion’s New Wave of gender-bending chic.
By the ’70s, Yves Saint Laurent had revolutionized formalwear with “Le Smoking” suit, his sleek 1966 creation that brought tuxedo dressing to the fashionable forefront. Nobody embodied the designer’s transgressive vision of elegance better than Bianca Jagger, who wore a white version with particular panache while out in London with daughter Jade in 1979.
The ’80s were all about the power suit, and in that department few measured up to Grace Jones. The singer’s suits were as fierce as her performances. The cover of Jones’s 1981 album “Nightclubbing” made it loud and clear.
Madonna and Britney Spears
The ’90s had its tuxedo moments, but widespread attention didn’t return until lifelong rule-breaker Madonna teamed up with the teen queen herself, Britney Spears, for the 2003 music video to “Me Against the Music.”
In the video, the pop stars duke it out to determine who wears the pants in the Sapphic dystopian underground. The answer: both of them.
Janelle Monáe
The tuxedo soon got a funky twist in the form of petite singer Janelle Monáe, whose 2010 video for “Tightrope” introduced audiences to an eccentric brand of soulful suiting.
Leelee Sobieski, Alexa Chung
Leelee Sobieski, left, and Alexa Chung.Photo: Startraksphoto.com
To be honest, actress Leelee Sobieski hasn’t done much in the way of actual acting since her turns as the awkward teen in movies like “Never Been Kissed” (1999) and “The Glass House” (2001). To her credit, though, the star has remade herself into a fashion plate, and one of the best purveyors of the modern tux.
She married fashion designer Adam Kimmel in 2009, and wore an ivory suit of his to the CFDA Awards in June 2011. There hasn’t been a better one since.
For an appearance at the Elle Style Awards in 2012, Alexa Chung proved tuxedo style isn’t always spelled out in black and white. The tomboyish It girl’s Stella McCartney two-piece came in grey check with jacquard detail, and embodied a more contemporary approach to the time-honored classic.
Carey Mulligan, Ellen DeGeneres, Emma Watson
From left: Carey Mulligan, Ellen DeGeneres and Emma Watson.Photo: Startraksphoto.com (L, R); Getty Images (C)
Plenty of stars today take a spin in tuxedo territory, but these three A-listers truly own it.
Carey Mulligan refuses to be standard-issue “sexy,” and Victoria Beckham’s sharp, cape-like take on the classic blazer, which the actress wore to a Tiffany & Co. event last year, is case in point.
Ellen DeGeneres may be a comedian, but her consistently dapper fashion efforts are no joke. The funny lady wore a white Saint Laurent suit to host this year’s Oscars in March.
Emma Watson, also in Saint Laurent, wore a black version to “The Late Show with David Letterman” this year. The actress leads the pack of talented young women exemplifying the fearless style started by Ms. Dietrich.
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