Lisa Murkowski spoke last week at a press conference for the Senate "oceans caucus." She wore a beige heathered jacket:

Once again, this jacket is too big in the shoulders for the senator. This seems to be a chronic problem for her.

Don't let it happen to you too: in a modern fit, the shoulder pads of a blazer should line up with the outer edge of your shoulder. If you can push the shoulder pad in towards your neck, the jacket is too big. The rest of it can be taken in (or let out) but the shoulders need to fit if you're going to buy the jacket.

Find the Fit

Senator Lisa Murkowski had questions for Janet Napolitano in a recent Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing. The senator wore black:

We could have a discussion about the pros and cons of wearing a shinier black satin jacket during the day (tricky, but doable) but I would prefer to discuss fit here. This jacket is just a bit too big for the senator. Notice that it sags around the arms and floats away from her body at the shoulders. The lapels are somewhat out of proportion too, which adds to the "too big" look. Not a disaster by any means, but perhaps not the best possible choice.

Patterns on television, part 2

We already talked about the many ways in which patterns can be dangerous on television. But there are some patterns that do work. Have a look at Kay Hagan on the Senate floor last week:


This textural pattern works out just fine on camera. What I really like about this jacket is the fit. It stays close to her body without being form fitting, and the shoulders aren't too wide. The contrast seams on the torso also add subtle dimension while directing not-so-subtle attention up to her face. There's so much going on in the jacket, she smartly sticks to a very plain white shell underneath. Nice outfit, Senator Hagan.

Barbara Boxer on the Senate Financial Regulations Bill

Senator Boxer gave her thoughts on the Senate Financial Regulations bill last week, in emphatic agreement with Senator Dodd. She wore lavender:


You know how obsessed I am with color, and in this case, the color is right. Senator Boxer often wears shades of purple, and this one in particular is nice on her. My concern here is the fit of the jacket - it's too tight across the front. See how the buttons pull and there's a gap at the bottom? Not so good. It also seems to be flattening out her chest.

It's easy for these things to sneak up on us - something fits well, then it fits a little tighter, then it doesn't fit, but it happens so gradually, you can miss it. Most of us think about whether something fits the first time we put it on, or put it on again after a while. But we often don't think about whether something fits if we wear it frequently. It's a question worth posing every once in a while!

Sarah Palin delivers keynote at National Tea Party Convention

Sarah Palin delivered the keynote speech at the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville yesterday. She wore a black suit:

In fact, she wore all black - black skirt suit, sheer black hose and very high black platform heels. Those heels, along with a long rope necklace partially hidden under her lapel, remind me of the chic look she became known for during her 2008 Vice Presidential campaign. But this black monochrome color palette and the looser tailoring of the suit are clear (and successful) attempts to downplay her wardrobe choices which caused so much controversy. I'm almost certainly not the only one writing about what she wore yesterday, so she gave us very little to write about, which was a shrewd choice.

Nancy Pelosi advocates pay-as-you-go legislation

Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed pay-as-you-go legislation this week on the House floor. She wore a red dress:

It's somewhat surprising that given the popularity of dresses as work wear in the last five years that we don't see more dresses in Congress, so I like this choice. But my concern here is the fit. It looks too big. Her chest is completely lost, making the top look more like armor than clothing. And although the style of the dress has full sleeves, we're still seeing too much fabric up around the upper arms - see how it's bunching around the armpits? If it doesn't fit, it doesn't matter how great the style is.

Napolitano discusses air travel security on CNN

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano appeared on CNN to discuss the government's actions and reactions related to the attempted bombing in Detroit. She wore a stone jacket with a mandarin collar with a dark shell under it:

Secretary Napolitano is definitely going for sober here with her choice of neutral colors, but something more saturated like charcoal gray or medium navy might have suited her better. I'm also very concerned about the fit of this jacket - it appears too tight across the shoulders, which is why she's getting those little points sticking up above the natural slope of her shoulder. It can be difficult to find jackets that fit well when you have wider shoulders (as a woman or a man) but it is critical and can't be altered. If it doesn't fit in the shoulder, it doesn't fit.

Her makeup looks great. I wonder if she's wearing Benefit silky finish lipstick in nice knickers. A fantastic color for a lot of people, it's always selling out at Sephora...