Visual pinball

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin spoke to the Washington Times editorial board last week. She wore a white shirt and black blazer:

The governor has five distinct visual focal points in this outfit, causing your eye to bounce from one to the next like a pinball:

large embroidered crest *PING!* gold button *PING!* sparkly brooch *PING!* diamond cross pendant *PING!* chunky earring *PING!*

Try to stick to one or two strong visual details in an outfit. Your audience won't notice enough to be grateful, and that's the whole point.

Framing the message

Mary Fallin is running for governor in Oklahoma. She has something to say:

Her words may be about lower taxes and small government, but her jewelry communicates a separate message. It's not just that her necklace is a cross. The pendant is small, and wouldn't be much of a focal point without the help of the jacket neckline, which creates a distinct square frame around the pendant, drawing your eye in to it.

Four ways to avoid the dreaded gap

Button down shirts might be the most difficult item to wear in a professional woman's wardrobe. There are so many potential pitfalls. We already saw the problem Blanche Lincoln had with her bra showing through. Now we see Rep. Mary Fallin, who is running for Governor in Oklahoma, in a remarkably similar ad (candidate in the middle of a big field) with a decidedly different problem with her shirt:


Oh, the dreaded gap.

A visible gap between buttons is probably the most common problem that women encounter wearing cotton button down shirts. What to do?

1. Buy shirts that are sized by bra size, not dress size. This kind of sizing system allows the designer to account for the difference in size between your bust line and your rib cage, just like your bra does. If the shirt has too small a difference, you end up with a gap. Rebecca & Drew Manufacturing is one of the best-known makers of these shirts.
2. Buy a larger size to fit the bust well, and tailor down around the waist. This a more time consuming and possibly more expensive option, but you'll be assured a perfect fit. And the useful thing about these shirts is that they are so neutral, you can wear them over and over again.
3. Pins, tape, velcro and other clever devices. This will work if the gap is very slight, but in general a force fit is no fit.
4. Just don't wear them. The thing about putting a distinctly menswear clothing item on a woman's body is that it simply does not work very well, particularly if the woman has particularly womanly curves. There are so many options available to us, we really can just let this one go.