Will Bachmann turn back the clock?

We've been following Michele Bachmann's Presidential campaign wardrobe since the very beginning. Hasn't it been interesting? And now here at the end, it seems to have come full circle.

On the night of the Iowa caucus, when she was still a candidate, she wore navy blue:

Dark color, almost no jewelry, small flag pin. Her outfit is simple, conservative, and, except for the jacket neckline, devoid of detail. It's everything we've come to expect from her on the campaign trail.

But when she announced the next day that she was leaving the race, her look had already begun to change:

She's still in a dark color palette, but her jacket has a pattern and beaded trim. She's wearing larger earrings.  Her eye makeup is considerably bolder, and I'm pretty sure those are false lashes. She hasn't gone all the way back to the pink twinset, but this is definitely a return to more overt femininity.

We'll continue to watch as Bachmann returns to Congress no longer a presidential candidate but with an elevated national profile. I'm not sure if we'll ever get back to her "date night with Fox" look, but I do expect we'll start to see more color soon. This Congresswoman Bachmann will look both familiar and new.

See also the Reliable Source in the Post today and the slideshow that goes with it!