Fey wears leather as Palin, but you don't have to

I suspect by now that everyone saw Tina Fey's appearance on SNL last night as Sarah Palin, but if you missed it, here it is:


She's recreating a Palin look from last month at a McCain rally, featuring a black leather motorcycle jacket. We've seen Palin in leather before, most memorably in a red fitted jacket during the 2008 campaign. Although I've said before that Palin's stylist made some serious missteps in the labels she chose for her client, for Palin, leather itself was an appropriate choice. She looked good, the jacket was on trend, and of course we know how much our leaders love red. Although this more recent jacket was perhaps not as successful from a style perspective, mostly because of the mash-up of jewelry that accompanied it, I see no reason why Palin shouldn't continue to include leather selectively in her wardrobe. The trend isn't going anywhere, and for her it provides sartorial support for her pro-hunting stance.

Palin isn't the only one grabbing headlines with leather lately. Rosa DeLauro's pink leather jacket got a lot of attention during the health care vote, as only one of several Congresswomen wearing leather in March. This trend is prominent on both sides of the aisle.

Although the Humane Society Legislative Fund gave DeLauro a perfect score on their most recent report card, she apparently hasn't made the leap yet to removing leather from her wardrobe, the way her House colleague Jared Polis has. But what if she decided to take leather jackets out of her wardrobe? There's no reason why she couldn't still incorporate the motorcycle jacket trend into her look. She (and you) would have two options:

1. Faux leather. This idea has something of a bad rap, and to be sure, there's a lot of ugly vinyl out there. You do have to choose carefully, but finishes and textures of faux leather have improved dramatically in recent years, and it can often be hard to tell the difference.

Faux Leather by StyleofPolitics featuring Calvin Klein jackets

Items in this set:
Calvin Klein Faux Leather Jacket, $86
Ashley B by Bernardo Distressed Faux Leather Jacket, $78
New York & Company - Outerwear - Faux Leather Motorcycle Jacket, $45
Sam Saboura Faux-Luxe Leather Moto Jacket at HSN.com, $40

That difficulty in telling the difference, though, could leave you with some problems. If the point you're trying to make is not to wear leather, then wearing something that looks so much like leather could at best go unnoticed and at worst leave you needing a press release to explain your jacket every time you wear it. Which leads me to...

2. Other materials. Motorcycle-style jackets come in a wide variety of materials now, creating a look at least as chic as the original leather designs. And in the case of cotton and linen, these can be light enough to wear well in to the spring.

Not Leather Jackets by StyleofPolitics featuring American Eagle Outfitters jackets

Items in this set:
Three Dots - Stretch Denim L/S Motorcycle Jacket (Black) - Apparel, $210
Nic+Zoe - Knit Motorcycle Jacket (Teak) - Apparel, $135
Lauren by Ralph Lauren French Rib Cotton Moto Jacket, $100
American Eagle AE Women's Canvas Moto Jacket Tan, $60

Both of these alternatives also have the added benefit of being significantly less expensive than leather, which leaves some of your budget for other investments.

Rosa DeLauro's pink leather jacket

This month's action on health care reform generated a lot of television footage of our lawmakers (and some legislation, too). Therefore, this week we will review what everyone wore on the House floor during the debate. Ok, not everyone. But many.

The biggest fashion-related story during the debate was without question Rosa DeLauro's pink leather jacket. At one point, the jacket was actually trending on twitter in DC. Here she is:

Not everyone making note of the jacket was a fan. But as I've said before, even when I try to find fault with Rep. DeLauro's style, I just...can't. Sure, the white padded shoulders are a bit too strong, and the purple and gray scarf is a bit too long, and the magenta frames of her glasses are a bit too bright. But mixed together on her it just creates a certain kind of style alchemy that I can't deny. She's confident in what she's wearing and it shows.

Pink leather is actually having a fashion moment right now:

Pink Leather Jackets by StyleofPolitics featuring Doma jackets

Items in this set:
Studded lambskin-leather jacket, $575
The Row - Barton Jacket, $1,900
DIANE von FURSTENBERG "Sporti" Heirloom Leather Jacket - Leather -..., $795
Armani Collezioni - Tissue Leather Jacket - Saks.com, $795
Neiman Marcus - Bagatelle Leopard Print Jacket, $295

So maybe there's something to this look after all. And Rep. DeLauro wasn't the only one wearing a leather jacket in the House that day. So was Dina Titus:

Definitely a variation on the "red jacket!"

Leather is a fashion-forward, if potentially controversial, choice for women in the House. I had some concerns at first that perhaps these leather jacket looks were too informal for House proceedings, especially those being as closely watched as these, but as we'll see in some upcoming posts, the level of formality during the health care debate varied widely. Stay tuned!

Rosa DeLauro

I was browsing the photos of the day on Roll Call, and I happened upon Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. I had sort of the opposite reaction to Valerie Jarrett yesterday. I looked at Rep. DeLauro and I kind of wanted to find something wrong with her look, but I can't. She looks great, mostly because she looks like herself. You can tell that what she's wearing suits her own personal style. It's a little creative, a little earthy, but crisp and professional and put together.


I do think it's a little bit hard to see her face behind her glasses, but I think that's mostly just this shot. I looked for some video for you, but it appears that her speech on the importance of women workers at the Center for American Progress was not as high on the journalistic agenda today as a certain someone else's trip to the Mandarin Oriental in New York for a fundraiser.... but I digress.

She sticks to this mossy green palette a lot, and it works well for her. Everything fits beautifully. Mostly, I just think she looks like a lot of Connecticut women I know, and that's a good thing.