I appreciate her effort to find a look not subject to the whims of fashion. However, she will have to adapt her look in a few years when the leggings under a skirt look goes out of style. I'm sure she'll adapt, perhaps switching back to tights.
It's also a look that will be difficult to pull off when she's 20 years older. For some reason, women have to dress their age. My guess is because there is so much societal pressure for women to look younger that there is significant backlash when the effort becomes too transparent.
Men have it easy. A well fitted Saville Row cut suit has been relatively fashionable for at least a century. The only thing you'd have had to change would have been the tie, and you would have had to lose the hat about 50 years ago.
Assuming you've got the Saville Row conduit cut back then and worked somewhere conservative (i.e. pretty close to Saville Row). Other than that, there have been a lot of fluctuations in male suit fashion over the years. Sure, it's not as obvious (no sudden harem pants), but one might argue that this makes it harder. Think of the business card scene in American Psycho and apply that to suits. Colors, patterns, shoulders (wide, narrow, built up etc), waist width, vents, pleats, cuffs – then add shirts, ties, suspenders, cuff links…
I agree, a Dr. No-era Bond suit is a timeless style icon, but if the rest of the group is wearing 80s style "power suits", you'd be the odd one out, which in some jobs would not be really good for your career.
Buy a suit that fits your build and it will never look too far out of place. Don't buy exaggerated cuts (like the present too-tight fit with too-short pants). The trendiest items will always be a little different, but they don't vary too far from the middle. You only look silly when you buy clothes too far on one extreme and the trend moves to the other end.
I'm not doing it at all. Jeans, t-shirts, occasionally a simple two-button suit, if required.
But for a lot of management guys, especially in finance, not being "too far out of place" just doesn't cut it. Somewhere you have to be more conservative than the general fashion, somewhere your tie and lapels have to be the proper width of the season. Never mind the often considerate difference between British, Italian and American fashion. We're talking about business fashion, not artist/actor style. (Never mind the preppy side of all those style guides and blogs.)
I'm not arguing about the timeless cuts, I'm a big fan of the toned down British style. And given the audience of this site, it's a good suggestion. Basically the 80/20 solution of menswear.
But it's really not like you've either got timeless fashion or 70s brown checkered suits with bell bottoms.
Seriously. I've worked in places with a relaxed dress code, but no one would be actively hostile towards someone deciding to wear a suit, even with everyone else wearing a t-shirt and jeans.
It's also a look that will be difficult to pull off when she's 20 years older. For some reason, women have to dress their age. My guess is because there is so much societal pressure for women to look younger that there is significant backlash when the effort becomes too transparent.
Men have it easy. A well fitted Saville Row cut suit has been relatively fashionable for at least a century. The only thing you'd have had to change would have been the tie, and you would have had to lose the hat about 50 years ago.