Seeing Red

Rep. Louise Slaughter spoke on the House floor about trade with China this week. She wore a Red Jacket:

This shade of red is good for the Congresswoman. It's the shape of this jacket that's problematic. The huge lapels and boxy shape make her torso look expansive. Even buttoning the jacket would pull in the silhouette a bit more and improve the look. 

Although we don't see her in profile in this clip, I bet she would benefit from a more supportive bra as well. Wearing a bra that is the wrong size or not supportive enough or stretched out can lead you to buy blouses and jackets in a larger size than would otherwise be necessary, leaving you with lots of extra fabric around the waist and sleeve areas. It looks like that might be what's happening here.

Louise Slaughter comments on healthcare, shows us how to do nautical

Rep. Louise Slaughter spoke at the President's meeting on healthcare last week on the need for reform. Her outfit had a distinctly nautical theme:

A jacket like this, with bold brass buttons, can be a challenge. What do you wear with it? It's tempting to go very very simple, like plain white tee kind of simple. And you can. But the other direction is to run with the nautical theme to a point. In this case, the Congresswoman chose a narrow striped oxford shirt and rounded gold jewelry that coordinates with the buttons. This is one time where matching your earrings and necklace is a good thing - mixing it up would just leave you with too much going on. Even her official House pin goes with the nautical theme in a way.

As I said, this works as long as you only take it so far. What's too far? Earrings shaped like anchors, any kind of rope detail on the blouse, a red handkerchief. You get the idea.