As Tess McGill in Working Girl, Melanie Griffith is taking on the brutal world of big business (as well as keeping the hairspray industry alive with her best friend Cyn, played by Joan Cusack) and she's got a stick-it-the-man wardrobe to do it in.

Trainers are more likely to be seen skipping around the city with a suit than on the treadmill in this film, and the bigger the shoulder pads, the more powerful the person. Plus, when the real deals are done, out comes the fur coat. As well as using Tess's outfits to cleverly reflect her maturing character, costume designer payed homage to the slick Armani suits that ruled Wall Street in the 80s with sharp, oversized tailoring galore, on men and women. It is set in yuppie capital, New York after all. And let's not overlook the presence of the original independent businesswoman Coco Chanel, who Tess's work-idol Katherine proudly name-drops, even if she does misquote her.   

Here are some of the best moments in Working Girl which show that fashion means business...

As the film opens we see Tess and Cyn doing their daily commute on the Staten Island ferry in the least subtle office-wear in history. They're doing big jobs in the big city, and they've got big coats and even bigger hair to prove it. Costume designer Ann Roth spent time riding the ferry at rush hour and marvelling at the high hair the women wore, when researching the wardrobe for the film. 

When Tess seeks revenge for her boss setting her up to be sleezed on rather than interviewed for a job, her bold blue sweater is also as bold as her actions: typing 'David Lutz is sleazoid pimp with a tiny little d*ck' into the electronic stock-ticker, for all the office to see. 

When we first meet Tess's big-shot boss Katherine, played by Sigourney Weaver, she breezes through the office like a woman who's fully aware of her status, which is further cemented by her chic-but-serious colour palette of olive and grey and, of course, shoulders like shelves. 

Wearing a lingerie set she received for her birthday from her skeezy boyfriend, we gather Tess is going to get down to a different kind of business. 

When Katherine hosts a sophisticated cocktail party - so sophisticated that they have Dim Sum instead of vol au vents - her dress is softer than the suits we've seen her in, but in deep scarlet, means she's no less commanding as she schmoozes her clients. 

As Tess tries to get in Katherine's good books with her big ideas, we notice that for the first time she's replaced her brash gold chunky necklace with a delicate, feminine chain. Katherine did previously tell her to lose the jewellery after all. 

Indeed, we start to see her switching her lary wardrobe staples for smart shirts too, as she strives to be taken more seriously.

And there's the ubiquitous trainers and tights. Ain't nobody got time for stilettos when they're wheeling and dealing with the big bosses all over NYC.

Having commandeered Katherine's wardrobe while she's laid up after a skiing accent, Tess tries to accidentally-on-purpose run into business hot-shot Jack Trainer, and those sly moves require a seriously attention grabbing outfit (and a new Princess Diana haircut, apparently). A fur coat and $6000 dress will do quite nicely, then, 

As Tess starts to gain traction with the radio acquisition she's trying to pull, thus starting to fill Katherine's shoes, we actually see her wearing the exact same outfit the woman she's trying to usurp was wearing when we first met her - and you can bet Tess nicked it out of her wardrobe too. 

Did Joan Cusack's hair and eyeshadow get supporting actress Oscars for their role in this film, because they should have. They certainly prove enough of a distraction to allow her to get away with pretending she's Tess's secretary in this scene. 

One must steal their superior's Deidre Barlow glasses when posing as the boss-lady themselves. 

Tess is back in Staten Island for Cyn's engagement party and a Sloaney collar and blazer let her emulate all her impending Manhattan success. Take that, skeezy ex boyfriend. 

Back in her business guise, Tess has got the fur coat out again to try and wangle her biggest meeting yet, with industry stalwart Trask at his daughter's wedding. 

Underneath the fur coat a chic, clean-lined white suit shows she's a serious professional, while remaining appropriate snuck-into-stranger's-wedding attire. 

More big meetings, so out comes Katherine's big-boss checked overcoat once more. 

And of course, the glasses, coupled with the sharpest shoulders we've seen yet. Things are getting serious. 

Oh no, Katherine's coming back! Better hoover her flat that you've creepily living in, Tess. Better do it naked for added drama!

Uh-oh, Katherine's smelt a rat and worked out what her secretary is up to. The fur coat's on the other shoulders, now.

Having been wrongly accused of lying by Katherine in front of the big cheeses she was trying to impress, Tess slinks back to Staten Island, the wind in her Princess Diana hair, her pride swallowed, and we momentarily see her return to her colourfully attired roots as a bridesmaid at Cyn's wedding.  

Katherine's back in action and she's got angular lines and a fiery colour scheme to prove it. Would you mess with this? 

Well, Tess would and she's triumphant, landing her a dream job with her own office at Trask industries. In a reflection of Katherine's sweeping entrance, Tess makes hers, this time in her own larger-than-life coat.

Lesson learned: sharpen your shoulders, and you too can rise to the top.