Ring pop

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand gave a floor speech last week on the Violence Against Women Act. She wore black, and an unusual ring: http://youtu.be/roJ9-s-IKow

The senator is of course well known for the mostly-black color palette of her wardrobe. But in this outfit, we see a little pop of color via a turquoise ring on her right hand. It works because the color is bright, but the style is subtle. Like this one:

Senatorial New Year's Eve

I hope you have some satisfying plans for New Year's Eve, whether you're going out, visiting friends, or curling up with cocoa and a movie. We don't often get to hear about what Congress does for New Year's Eve when they're all back in their districts, but I thought it would be fun to imagine what a Senator might wear to a New Year's Eve party. And who better to imagine than Kirsten Gillibrand, a senator from the place much of America watches on TV that night.

We know from past experience that Senator Gillibrand sticks to her customary palette of mostly black, even for a night out. But since we're imagining, let's imagine we can get her to go a little further around the color wheel:

Everyone likes a little sparkle on New Year's Eve, and this warm creamy blazer is both festive and structured. The forest green blouse keeps her face from looking washed out, and the bow at the neck eliminates the need for a necklace. Instead, we've paired rose gold stud earrings. The senator gets to keep her black in the form of a pencil skirt and black suede pumps to balance out all that sparkle.

Professional and dignified while still festive. You can do it too!

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:

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.

Pulling back

Kirsten Gillibrand held a press conference yesterday about the repeal of DOMA. She wore her hair pulled back in a bun:

The senator did two things really right in this hairstyle: She parted her hair to one side, and she created some lift in the front. Both techniques prevent an up-do from turning into a hair-plastered-to-my-head-do.

With this style, we do notice her ears more, and with them her earrings. Like many women with pierced ears, my guess is that the piercing sits a little bit low on the earlobe. This can cause small earrings like these to look very small, and the ears look larger. I would have gone with a slightly larger style here, perhaps a very thin, small hoop. 

Up around the neck

Senator Gillibrand spoke to State of Politics this week about Don't Ask Don't Tell. She wore a dark suit and a blue print blouse:

Although blue is a great color for the senator, the style of this blouse is all wrong. The business of the print and the fussiness of the ruffles don't harmonize with her overall look. It sort of looks like she's wearing someone else's clothes.

Remember, you can like a garment a lot and it can still be all wrong for you. Don't get so caught up on one element (like color) that you don't pay enough attention to the other elements, like silhouette and style.

O'Donnell says "I'm you." Would you steal Gillibrand's outfit?

By now you've probably seen Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell's latest television ad, where she tells the viewer, "I'm you." But if you haven't, here it is:

She's wearing a black suit, pearls, and soft pink makeup. Since "you" could be a lot of people, I'm not sure whether I'd recommend this look for "you," but for her, it's not bad.

But it is different. This isn't just a departure from her usual look. This look has all the hallmarks of someone else's usual look: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Not sure? See for yourself:

So the question is, was this deliberate? And if so, why? These two women couldn't be further apart politically. But this isn't the first time we have wondered whether O'Donnell has taken more than just inspiration from the looks of other politicians - people just can't stop talking about her resemblance to Sarah Palin. She seems to be casting about for a style role model among the candidates who have come before her. I'm not sure that it's working for her though. As you know, I recommend that you dress like yourself, not someone else.

What does it mean to be attractive?

Last week, the candidates in the Republican primary for the New York Senate seat held by Kirsten Gillibrand held a debate. They were asked to compliment their eventual opponent, Senator Gillibrand. Here is what attorney Bruce Blakeman had to say:

"She's an attractive, bright woman, who I believe is a good mom." Yes, he really said that.

Here is Senator Gillibrand's reaction:

Of course, this isn't the first time the Senator has encountered public comments about her looks, and she was clearly prepared.

Even while Mr. Blakeman insists this was in fact a compliment, we can read his implication readily here: Pretty girl, go home and take care of your babies. It's really only one step removed from the era when women candidates with young children were constantly asked who was taking care of their children while they were running for office.

Kirsten Gillibrand discusses Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Kirsten Gillibrand went on the Rachel Maddow show last week to discuss the proposed repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. She wore black:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This outfit is rather similar to what we saw Kathleen Sebelius wear to the Senate last week, with one key difference. While the Secretary wore a pink top under her jacket, Senator Gillibrand went with black. For someone with such fair coloring, this is a lot of stark black at once. The pearls against her skin, above the neckline instead of on the fabric, helps to soften this look, as does pink hued makeup.

Kirsten Gillibrand on gay rights

Kirsten Gillibrand met with LGBT activists in New York yesterday, and I like everything about what she wore except the color. I don't think this much black is doing her fair skin any favors. Even if she had swapped out the black shell under the jacket for a color (pink?) that would have been enough.

But her makeup is lovely. Rose shades work very well with her hair and eye color. The necklace is a good length for the shape of her face, and having two strands instead of one adds some visual interest.