Power dressing has had a bit of a bad rep since the 1980s, when women wore sharply tailored suits stuffed with shoulder-pads so high they could take your eye out from twenty paces away. ‘The Dress for Success’ uniform required a skirted suit and blouse, echoing men’s corporate dress code.

But things have changed. It used to be all about women dressing to demonstrate that they were equal to men, but today women’s corporate styles are more about ‘expressing your true self’, as The Sunday Times Style put it. Rather than dressing to project confidence, today it’s about dressing to feel confident. And we’re big fans of that idea.

The Outnet wanted us to help promote their workwear range to The Sunday Times Style audience. So we decided to interview inspiring women that were bossing their industries and photograph them in a range of stylish business gear.

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Feminist, author, entrepreneur and career oracle Otegha Uwagba is one of those power-houses. At just 15, she organised a women-in-leadership conference at her school. And now, at 28, she is the founder of Women Who, a community that offers support to the new wave of female freelancers entering the workforce.

She talked to us about going freelance, the importance of having a uniform and why you should ask strangers about their salaries. We styled her up in a range of fashionable outfits including Alexander McQueen, Phillip Lim, Preen and Zimmerman.

Clothes that she didn’t just look amazing in. These were clothes that changed the way she felt about herself.

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