Ginsburg and Sotomayor speak to National Association of Women Judges

Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor spoke to the National Association of Women Judges earlier this month about their experiences on the modern court. What they each chose to wear reflects differences in both their personal style and their generation. Justice Ginsburg wore a red suit with a patterned silk scarf over her shoulders:

Such a large scarf could overwhelm a petite woman like Justice Ginsburg, but this pattern echoes the angles in her facial features and works to soften her look a bit. Without the soft folds of the scarf, her large glasses and smooth hairstyle might look severe.

Justice Sotomayor wore a black suit with asymmetrical buttons and lots of jewelry:

The suit is pretty conservative, and Justice Sotomayor would have benefitted from some color near her face. But have a look at her jewelry! Dangling earrings and lots of stacked silver bracelets. This is not the pearls-and-button-earrings jewelry set that was standard issue for the previous generation. This jewelry reflects her personal style and makes what would otherwise be a very plain outfit considerably funkier.

A Note on the Red Jacket

I want to be clear about something: my goal in writing here is not to "rewrite" the rules, but rather to show how there are no universal rules for dressing well. Every person has to find his or her own best look.

As an example, I just showed you (I hope) how a bright red blazer isn't an ideal choice for Nancy Pelosi. But on Sonya Sotomayor, it looks great:

The shape here isn't as structured as the one Pelosi was wearing, of course, and that's a good thing. The rounded shape of the wide shawl collar on this jacket compliments the Justice's hair texture. In this case, the color adds life to her face instead of draining it.