Clinton and Nkoana-Mashabane have much in common, but different styles

Hillary Clinton welcomed her counterpart from South Africa Maite Nkoana-Mashabane to Washington last week. Look at the very different styles these two women inhabit:




No one could really accuse Secretary Clinton of being a shrinking violet (or of Anglo-American chromophobia) but it is interesting to me that she chose a color so close to her own skin tone, paired with a straight hairstyle and carefully edited jewelry. There is something to consider about the implication of a style that tries to be as unobtrusive as possible.  Foreign Minister Nkoana-Mashabane by contrast wears bright color, puffy sleeves, lots of jewelry and full, natural hair. Her style takes up as much physical and visual space as possible. To be sure, some of these differences are cultural, but maybe some style is one more thing we could learn from each other.