What women used in their jobs in 1912 and what they use today: what has changed?

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(CNNMoney) - About 100 years ago, women in their workplaces looked a little different than they look today. But many of the basic garments when dressing to go to the office remain today.

The authority of the time in fashion columns was Anne Rittenhouse, whose column “What the Well-Dressed Woman is Wearing” made a list that every “working girl” should follow. (His column appeared in more than 100 newspapers throughout the twentieth century).

Deirdre Clemente, a professor at the University of Nevada, has dedicated her career to chronicle the evolution of women's clothing. Clemente says that many of Rittenhouse's points about professional attire - how to dress, colors, versatility and much more - derive from the influence of working women who went to offices in the early twentieth century.

So how would Rittenhouse's rules be applied in the (still confusing) world of women's clothing for work?

Follow the dress strategy manual for men

Men have always had a simple uniform: shirts with buttons, jackets and formal shoes. Rittenhouse recommends to its readers to copy that uniform to build a wardrobe of interchangeable basic garments. His suggestions are a bit dated - an elegant hat, a ruffled collar and an overcoat do not add up in 2017 - but his guide to women's dress still works.

Always be prepared for events after work

If you're going out to dinner after work, Rittenhouse advised working women to either dress very formally or (and this is “the best plan,” she writes), keep a secret hiding place for blouses and other accessories in the office to after work.

Clemente says that this points again to the great mobility that jobs caused in the lives of women. Writers like Rittenhouse knew that women had social lives both outside their homes and outside their work.

The black dress is your best friend

According to Clemente, the colors in women's wardrobes have always been controversial, but at that time they were banned. Rittenhouse could have advised its readers not to use colors to avoid practical dangers (if you water coffee in a yellow dress, what a horror!), But above all it was a warning against negative connotations. (In the early 1900s people still associated colors like red with "women of the night").

Don't be very flashy

"Employees who choose flashy garments are being excluded from leaving a good position."

Oh, those hardworking women and their budgets! "They are too prone to buy things that won't last and use something that won't last," Rittenhouse wrote in his column.

Take a look in your office and look at the amount of ragged H&M blouses and fast fashion shabby heels ... not much has changed, Anne.

Fashion style