If there's one bona fide must-have look this year, it’s without a doubt the 80s-style exaggerated shoulder. From Marc Jacobs’ Fall 09 runway to the most in-demand frock for spring -- the Balmain bandleader jacket -- padded shoulders beloved by the Dynasty-era Joan Collins are back in a big way. But how does that translate to the everyday? A Times scribe put the padded shoulder to the test (specifically by wearing the aforementioned Balmain coat in white around London), only to find that the style in fact boasts a host of empowering features.

“I felt its transformative effects immediately, and specifically at my waist: if your shoulders loom large, the rest of your body looks smaller,” Gemma Soames writes. And while the oversized shoulders drew an endless stream of stares from a “fashion bash” to Portobello Road, Soames maintains that the embellishment likewise allots the wearer an increased sense of confidence and strength. In other words, while “their stares would normally make me feel as naked as Sienna’s boobies ... with the power of The Shoulders on my side, I didn’t seem to care.” While overall opinions remained mixed, Soames chalks up the experience as vastly educational, making a particularly illustrative music metaphor: “Shoulder pads are the sartorial equivalent of the power ballad -- uplifting, life-affirming, singing-in-the-shower-style confidence-giving, and totally and utterly designed for a female audience.”