Further Reading
Douglas, John, and Mark Olshaker.The Anatomy of
Motive. New York: Pocket Books, 1999. A famous
FBI profiler, Douglas gives insights into post office
killers in his chapter “Guys Who Snap.”
Lasseter, Donald.Going Postal. New York: Pinnacle
Books, 1997. Study of post office violence in the
United States. Blames USPS practices for creating
a stressful work place.
Pantziarka, Pan.Lone Wolf. New York: Virgin Books,
- A British mystery writer describes and ex-
plains real-life spree killings in the United King-
dom and the United States in a readable style.
James Pauff
See also Business and the economy in the United
States; Crime; Goetz, Bernhard; Income and wages
in the United States; Inflation in the United States;
Reaganomics; Recessions; San Ysidro McDonald’s
massacre; Stockton massacre; Unions.
Power dressing
Definition Wearing formal professional clothing
in order both to feel and to appear competent
and powerful
Power dressing became particularly important for women
during the 1980’s as they entered corporate America in ever-
greater numbers and attempted to break the glass ceiling.
However, business women were not content to follow limited
formulas for power dressing, and they looked for ways to
modify the business “uniform” while maintaining a profes-
sional appearance.
Recognizing the needs of a new generation aspiring
to enter the business professions, John Molloy pre-
scribed a “uniform” of appropriate dress for men
(1975) and women (1978). His rules were widely
adopted by men in the 1980’s; women also followed
his advice, though with significant modifications.
Appropriate business attire was established for
men in the nineteenth century. Molloy in the 1970’s
adapted those fashions for new college graduates in
the late twentieth century, prescribing conservative
dress of good manufacture and fit. The business suit
was the basic uniform, and it was to be worn in a lim-
ited range of colors (navy, black, gray, or brown) and
modestly accessorized with white shirt and a tie.
Business dressing for women was a newer and more
problematic issue. Women re-entered higher educa-
tion in the 1960’s and 1970’s and took their place be-
side men in business and the professions in the
1970’s and 1980’s. Earlier women’s fashion had been
designed to display the social position of their hus-
bands, not themselves. In the late 1970’s, Molloy
adapted his conservative male “uniform” for the fe-
male business aspirant: She was to wear a skirted suit,
soft blouse, and a feminine version of the tie, floppy
and bowed. This too became a standard that, with
modifications, continued in effect for decades.
Women, however, were less content with the limi-
tations of Molloy’s prescription than were men. Some
felt masculinized in such business attire, and many
resisted the sense of wearing a uniform. Accustomed
to more pronounced and rapid changes in fashions,
many women found the rules boring and their dura-
tion interminable. Women sought out other models
of fashions that combined power and femininity.
One such model was the United Kingdom’s Princess
Diana. Throughout the decade, television series such
asDynasty,Designing Women, andMoonlightingalso
portrayed alternative modes of power dressing: The
powerful women on these shows wore daywear that
included skirted suits and jacketed dresses with slim,
broad-shouldered silhouettes, a much wider range of
textures and colors, and stronger accessories. They
also wore opulent evening wear. Especially emblem-
atic of power dressing for women were large shoul-
der pads and wide lapels. By the end of the decade,
the movieWorking Girl(1988) served as a fashion
handbook for getting ahead.
Business dressing was at base antifashion. It was
“investment dressing”: classic, well made, not re-
sponding to fads. However, fashion responded. For
men, designers such as Armani made available both
couture and ready-to-wear power suits, while the
ready-to-wear lines of Jones of New York and Liz
Claiborne dressed America’s businesswomen.Impact In the 1980’s, appearance was an impor-
tant part of performance. Iterated in the 1970’s and
reiterated in popular media throughout the 1980’s
and beyond, power dressing made up the rules help-
ing both men and women dress with confidence in
business environments.Further Reading
Davis, Fred.Fashion, Culture, and Identity. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1992.776 Power dressing The Eighties in America