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Womens Casual Wear The late Laurent is credited with bringing "equality of thesexes" on the fashion scene and introducing to the mass marketwomen's trouser suits that were tailored to fit and reveal thefeminine curves in the 1960s. Initially, society rejected this ground-breaking style. Stories ofwomen wearing his trouser suits being turned away from hotels andrestaurants were common. But over the years, the trouser suit became a must-have outfit inthe wardrobe for most, if not all, professional women. And like in the 1960s, the trouser suit is under attack again. The call to defend the much-loved outfit started last year whenHillary Clinton, then vying for the Democratic Party's presidentialticket, came under fire for her dress of choice - the trouser suitsor pantsuits. The American edition of Vogue, the global fashion magazine, editordescribed her look as "mannish" and claimed that MrsClinton had worn it for "her fear of looking toofeminine". This sparked a debate on how important the trouser suit is to awoman, apart from hiding her scarred, fat or thin legs. Njambi Kiritu, the managing director of Impact by Design, says sheoften finds herself under or on top of tables fixing and stickingdecorations and wearing a trouser suit makes more sense. Such professions have seen some women totally abandon the skirtsuit. "Personally, my preference for business attire is trousersuits," says Susan Maina, director and image and etiquetteconsultant at Image. In Kenya, the wearing of the trouser suit by the womenfolk did notcome on a silver platter. Ms Kiritu says that when she was in college in the 1970s, wearing atrouser suit was unheard of. All the women were expected to wear skirt suits and nothing elseeven when they left learning institutions to join the work force. The tourism industry back then was dominated by men and Ms Kirituwas one of the five women in a class of 30. "The feeling was that the trouser suit was too formal and afat woman will not look good in it or it will be too casual,"she says. But as more women climbed the corporate ladder the trouser suitsbecame more acceptable in the workplace. When Ms Kiritu was hospitalised with a spinal injury and thetractions left her legs scarred, she opted to wearing trousers tohide the scars. Ms Kiritu says her confidence in trouser suits got a big boost whenshe presented her departmental budget wearing her favourite suitand it was passed in record time. "I was dressed like them and I even had cropped hair,"she says. "I felt I was at par with them." She got rid of all her skirt suits, adopted the dark - black mostly- suits, wore very little jewellery and kept her hair short todate. A good suit Ms Susan Maina However, not every profession has embraced the women's trousersuit. It is only in the mid-1990s that women lawyers were allowedto wear them to court. To date, skirt suits are still preferred in law firms and thetrouser outfit has certain conditions attached to it.