Tailoring and the Glass Ceiling
Last Sunday, I caught an interview with Cherie Blair on the BBC’s Politics Show. It ended a programme segment hosted by three guest women presenters, each from quite different backgrounds; a fire-fighter, a mother trying to get back into the workforce, and a company director. An interesting debate. And three observations in particular struck a chord which has some relevance to my own professional arena.
The other day it was suggested by a male colleague that it was just too difficult for “gentlemen’s’ and ladies’ tailoring to co-exist”. ( I use the word ‘ladies’ advisedly!). Despite the number of professional women currently hammering at the executive ‘glass ceiling‘ (some of them are my clients), it seems strange that this sort of attitude still prevails. Cherie commented on how society works best when women and men work together with “complementary skills on an equal basis”. I know I learned a huge amount from my colleagues on Savile Row; in fact TfW is a service that grew from within a male tradition. Yet despite my own background in haute couture, I feel that the opportunity for reciprocal learning was never quite part of the sharing process.
She also commented on how volume counted, that is, the more women that reach senior executive positions, the more accepting and quicker the change; a statistic of around 20%-30% was suggested for producing critical mass. As one of the only women specialising in authentic bespoke tailoring for women I think we have some way to go on this one!
Maybe it is just that the trade is not ready for an influx of women. Judging from the recent BBC series about Savile Row, it seems as if the upholders of this male tradition are still pretty well ensconced in their gentleman’s emporiums.
Maybe I should declare myself an endangered species. And while we are at it, perhaps someone should mention that kissing the back of a lady’s hand by way of greeting is a bit ‘old hat’!
Tags: Add new tag, business women, glass ceiling, Savile Row, suit, womens suits
