Ladies, the suit is back

After years of mismatched fashion irreverence (which included pairing teal shoes with everything) the classic suit is reemerging in a much different landscape than the last time it dominated women's wardrobes in the 1980s.

Dresses, the most feminine of fashion items, are peaking in popularity as more and more women are moving away from dressing like men in order to be taken seriously in the workplace. We are even seeing more and more cleavage during daylight hours.

Still, dark-hued, menswear blazers and skirt (or pant) combinations are dominating clothing racks this fall. However, they are back with a twist. To keep the apparel delicate, contemporary designers such as Nanette Lepore, Rebecca Taylor, and Tracy Reese are giving tweeds, plaids and herringbones a womanly touch with ruffles, ruching and ribbon trim.

And by pairing matched separates with glossy, patent leather shoes and oversized bags, we are giving today's suit the we-scoff-at-rules edge that has been the subplot of the ready-to-wear story for the last five years.

"Everything is very polished," explained Denelle Drake, fashion spokeswoman for Neiman Marcus in the King of Prussia mall. "Suits are very important, especially those with straight cuts and embellishments."

After seasons of pointing out the popularity of denim (low-rise, high-rise and skinny) paired with all things voluminously (some would say sloppily) Bohemian, we're showing how today's suit can reintroduce itself to the city's fashion enclaves.

We mixed pinstripes with metallics to make shimmery pop appropriate for the office. We treated indigo jeans as if they were tailored trousers by pairing them with a fitted jacket and a bowed metallic blouse. We broke some suits up. Others, we kept together.

And we gave manly herringbone separates a ladylike twist for brunch by pairing them with a black shift and an ivory jacket with demure bell sleeves.

Metallic belts, round-toed T-strap shoes, sparkling clutches and denim may annoy staunch suit wearers. Don't these more frivolous items overpower the suit's seriousness?

But retailers and fashion pundits say the suit denotes a certain sense of order by its very nature. The biggest difference between the suit of today and yesteryear is that it's more flexible, they say, and just like its wearer, is much more likely to transition from work to play.

"The essence of a suit is about order and class," said Maureen Doron, owner of Skirt, a boutique in Bryn Mawr.