There's a big misconception that the only women who wear white shirts & black suits are:

• female accountants
• female lawyers
• female bankers
• female bores
• the Australian prime minister...
• women who want to dress like Ellen Degeneres (and just by the way, Ellen looks fantastic in her suits & adidas sneakers - no they're actually not cons).

This is completely untrue, given that the tailored white shirt & black suit look is all over runways and red carpets. Take note of the looks these ladies have achieved with a man style suit and simple white shirt - it's a far cry from the bare-all look that Hollywood loves to brandish but it's THAT much classier.

Alexa Chung in a menswear-inspired grey checkered suit with matching pants that has a contrasting panel at the bottom from the Stella McCartney pre-fall 2012 collection. Alexa, as usual, wears a long-sleeve white shirt with a small collar buttoned right up to the top.

Leighton Meester is wearing a black Thom Browne womenswear suit with a white shirt and a loosely tied black tie & black Salvatore Ferragamo pumps.

Miranda Kerr is wearing a tuxedo suit from Josh Goot at the launch the David Jones AW12 collection. She's also wearing a simple white shirt with a large point collar and a hidden placket.