Friday, July 29, 2011

Senator Boxer goes minty fresh

Senator Boxer spoke at a Democratic press conference last week about proposed changes to Medicare and the debt ceiling. Her jacket was mint green:


This is a tough color to wear, for anyone, and I'm not sure that I would recommend it for Senator Boxer in particular. There are two features of this outfit that help rescue it though:
  1. The relaxed silhouette of the jacket - too much tailoring makes unusual colors look even more strange.
  2. The French blue shirt she paired it with - placing a color that is within your recommended palette closest to your face helps you wear more challenging colors further away.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Coburn spices up summer

Tom Coburn was on Charlie Rose earlier this month. He wore a tan suit and a grass green tie:


If ever you gentlemen are on a search for a summer suit that can get longer (and less conspicuous) wear than seersucker, the tan suit is your man. The Senator does the right thing here by choosing a brightly colored tie and a non-white shirt to keep the look summery.

To quibble, I don't care for a button down collar in a business setting, but there are those who disagree with me there, so I'll let it pass (or not, as I'm mentioning it now...). The lapel is a touch too wide too. But overall an excellent look, especially for television, where white is problematic.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Final word on scrunchie-gate

I know it's summer and you may have (like me) spent some time at the beach, and some more time basking next to the air conditioner, and basically let some routines go. But I bet no matter what you were reading, you heard about the day Hillary Clinton wore a scrunchie. Oh boy did you. The story was everywhere - you would have thought she stepped off a plane wearing one of my grandmother's house dresses:
Carole Print Sundress, Lilac Floral, Small

And yet I wonder, was the scrunchie really such a problem? I'll let you decide:


We've talked before in this forum about how Secretary Clinton isn't particularly well served by pulling her hair back. It tends to focus us in on each individual feature of her face, instead of seeing her face as a dynamic and expressive whole. I think it's that discomfort that we're really reacting to here. There's nothing wrong with wearing a little white silk ruffle in your hair - and ultimately, that's all a scrunchie is, provided it's clean, well cared for and made of good materials, just like all the rest of your clothing and accessories.

The other thing I think some of my fellow bloggers and journalists were reacting to is simply that it's Hillary Clinton, a woman whose looks have been a lightning rod since her public life began. On another political woman, this might have been a non-story. If you're skeptical, simply ask yourself: Did you hear a single word out of anyone when Kirsten Gillibrand wore a banana clip in the Senate last week?

No, you didn't. Not until now.

The forecast in DC today is a high of 92 degrees. I might pull my hair back. Now let's grow up and get back to work.