A decade earlier, it was very much a part of a super-chic style epitomised by the girls who strode around the streets of uptown Manhattan in high-heeled boots, jeans and tailored jackets.
It was the kind of thing worn by Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith in early episodes of Charlie's Angels, while the far more frivolous Farrah Fawcett was running around in a fitted jumpsuit.
The jackets, which had a masculine cut, made the girls look serious but at the same time utterly sexy.
While most working women will probably be unaware that tailoring ever went out of fashion, its return is one of the most talked about trends this autumn.
But, as Lucy Hansen demonstrates above, the new crop of tailored jackets, which can also be found in high-street stores from Agn s b to Warehouse, are a world away from workwear.
This season, the jacket is not simply about office-bound skirts and trouser suits. A more interesting way to wear a tailored jacket is jumbled with casual pieces, such as skinny jeans, dresses or even shorts.
The trend really took off when Kate Moss wore blazers over the summer.
For instance, she paired a navy jacket with shiny gilt buttons with a fine-knit vest, baggy, putty-coloured shorts and strappy high-heeled sandals.
She looked as cool as ever and gave the blazer a new lease of life.
It's all about contrast the same jacket with anything that vaguely matches would be a disaster but, mixed with floppy shorts and a sexy top, the jacket looks a fresh proposition.
It's one approach to the new, smarter way of getting dressed, while also giving a nod to this season's more androgynous silhouette.
Similar jackets have appeared on several catwalks. Luella Bartley took a more punky approach at her New York presentation, teaming smart jackets with skinny, drainpipe trousers or with sequinned, Mod-striped black and white tops.
Herm s had ultra-luxurious variations on the tailored jacket in deep yellow cashmere or more neutral shades.
Stella McCartney, too, has pushed the tailored jacket as casualwear since her days at Chlo e in the late 1990s.
She recently paired dark, navy blazers with high-waisted indigo jeans and high-heeled court shoes and has continued to play with the look in her forthcoming spring collection in Paris last week she put tailored jackets over floppy shorts made from parachute silk, shorts, jumpsuits or cute beaded mini-dresses.
Again, it's the contrast with denim, corduroy or softer, more feminine fabrics that makes the jackets look fresh and new. They also look best with a skinnier bottom half, such as narrow-legged jeans or shorter dresses.
But it's also about finding the right cut.
If you are tall, then longer-line jackets, such as those by McCartney, work well, especially with the new crop of high-waisted trousers or jeans.
If you are shorter, seek out more cropped styles and it's worth spending extra for better fabric APC, Joseph and Margaret Howell have beautiful, quite androgynous variations this autumn.
Finally, despite the season, look out for finer wools, tweeds or even cashmeres.
Supple materials are the key to making this look work.
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