How to Power Dress Like History's Greatest Women

Navigating the practical, fashionable and moral codes of clothing is something familiar to women throughout history, from queens to sports stars. A look further back in time shows many ways that women have used their clothing to advance their causes, regardless of the consequences.

Cleopatra

The story of the Queen of the Nile and the conquest of Egypt by Rome is a tale of gargantuan proportions that has become one of our most enduring tragic love stories, retold by everyone from Shakespeare to Hollywood. In all of her depictions from the ancient world to celluloid, Cleopatra’s attributes are demonstrated in a way fitting for a queen who was fabled for her sexual allure as well as her intelligence.

In 1963, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton starred in a film of her life which became the epic to end all epics, a spectacular affair that was the most costly movie to date and famously nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox. The movie inspired a ‘Cleopatra Look’ Revlon campaign shot by Richard Avedon, featuring ‘Sphinx eyes’ eyeliner and ‘Sphinx pink’ for lips and fingertips - perfect for a Queen who even wrote tracts on cosmetics herself. The smoky eye makeup favored by Cleopatra was believed to ward off eye infections too.

Suzanne Lenglen

While athleisure may be the breakout trend of the 21st century, the links between sportswear and fashion were cemented by French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen, one of the first female sports stars and one of the chicest athletes of the 1920s. She won the Wimbledon singles title six times in seven years, as well as many other prestigious titles throughout her career. She was a big fan of designer Jean Patou, whose tennis dresses included racy features for the time, such as short sleeves and short hemlines.

In 1930, as designers such as Chanel and Schiaparelli were also bringing sportswear into the high fashion arena, Lenglen became director of the sports department at the Yvonne May couture house. Her own look was the starting point for her designs, which featured tennis-wear in silk with matching jackets and her trademark hair bandeaus.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
The President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is the first elected female head of state in Africa. Despite working in the West and studying at Harvard, she readopted Afrocentric styles on her return to the continent.

The silhouette she often wears is common across western Africa, featuring the buba (loose tunic-style blouse with embroidered neckline), iro (snug wraparound maxi-skirt with side slits), gele (headscarf that is wrapped, tied or folded into a turban), and ipele (narrow shawl draped over left shoulder for more formal occasions). When she was declared president, new posters revealed her iconic presidential style: four-piece skirt suits made from distinctive cloth known as lapa. Johnson Sirleaf wears a contemporary, 21st-century version of traditional dress that's fit for the world stage – using her clothing to send a political message of unity.

Throughout history, female leaders have used dress to embody their messages. Fashion is often a political arena and women can be chastised for their choices. In recent months this has re-entered the spotlight, as the pantsuit has become a symbol of the glass ceiling women are still attempting to smash, and the pink pussy hat has dominated Women’s Marches. Often denounced as superficial, clothing choices continue to play a vital role in the way women are perceived in public life.