Tone on tone success for Collins

Senator Susan Collins was on PBS News Hour last week to talk NSA, causes of the shut down, and bipartisanship. She wore green:

 http://youtu.be/a4YMgiIWUF0


If you were ever looking for a model of good style in the Senate, here she is. This green top and jacket are just the right shade for Senator Collins and the color looks good both under the TV lights and against the pale marble backdrop of the Capitol. Her makeup is tasteful - notice how she has chosen to add color on the cheeks and lips but not the eyes, for balance.

My favorite part of this outfit is the necklace. It hits her first balance point just right, and the shape of the pendant softly echoes the shape of her face. 

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:

Dangling attention

Susan Rice was on PBS last week to discuss UN Security Council actions against Syria. She wore a beaded necklace and long, dangling earrings: http://youtu.be/VOMyLg_SL0k

You remember the last time we talked about long earrings, don't you? They can be endlessly distracting, as they are in this case. Part of the problem is that they are so long, they move even when she is barely moving her head at all. They also catch the studio lights, which draws even more attention to them.

The great thing about earrings is that they are easy and fast to put on or take off as needed. In that last minute check before going on camera, I would recommend taking these off.

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.

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. 

Small change, big impact

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is sporting a new hairstyle. Check it out in the this video message about Baltimore's mentoring program:

This shorter cut looks great on her.  It's neat and it highlights her cheekbones. Her jewelry also works really well here. She's wearing multiple necklaces in different styles, but she has scaled down the size from previous looks, delivering a more professional effect.

All very good. Is Mayor Rawlings-Blake reading Style of Politics???

Baroque

Rep. Michele Bachmann went on the O'Reilly Factor last week to discuss her Congressional agenda. She wore a twinset:


There are some matters of style that are subjective, that we can debate back and forth the possible merits of a particular look.

This is not one of those times.

The beading on the cardigan AND the shell AND the big necklace AND the dangling earrings makes this look a study of excess. It's so distracting. If you're going to wear a garment with this much heavy beading, you need to leave the jewelry at home.

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.

Breaking the rules

We were just talking the other day about how wearing a really bold necklace with dangling earrings is not a good idea.

Except sometimes it is:

The key for Joyce Elliott is an extremely short hairstyle, which keeps competing visual elements away from the earrings. Her bright yellow blazer also helps keep our attention focused on her, even with some very noticeable distractions behind her (flag, former president, etc).

Competing elements

Hillary Clinton accepted the George McGovern Leadership Award last week. She wore a print blouse:

Secretary Clinton paired the blouse with a gold necklace that almost perfectly bisects the flower that is meant to be the visual focal point at the collar. It's so distracting! I would have recommended that she forgo a necklace entirely, given how much detail the blouse involves.

A bold look for early voting

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake recently announced early voting in October. She wore very bold jewelry:

Few people could pull off this bold necklace, but the Mayor has the strong features to make it work. But the large hoop earrings send the look over the edge - the necklace needs to be the sole focal point.

What's your favorite piece of statement jewelry? Do you wear it to work?

Jewelry that speaks

New York City Councilwoman Jessica Lappin got on the seersucker bandwagon last week, but even her great outfit couldn't marshal the attention of a group of restless senior citizens:

A seersucker jacket paired with a bright white shirt could be too white overall for Ms. Lappin, but she made a shrewd choice of jewelry: a turquoise statement necklace, which gets a clear, saturated color up near her face. Depending on your overall personal style, a statement necklace can be a great addition to an otherwise very neutral outfit that features seersucker suiting. What's a "statement necklace?" Try these:

Seersucker loves a statement by StyleofPolitics featuring Chan Luu jewelry

Sarah Palin's new book

I would have written a post about the cover photo for Sarah Palin's new book, America by Heart.

But Michael Shaw at BagNews has already said it all, so I don't have to. What to make of her clothes, jewelry and photo selection? Check out his post here.

Less is more

Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper had a great outfit going here. And then something attacked her necklace:

The Congresswoman's face is a nice long oval shape. The neckline of her top hits her at just the right point to balance the length of her face. The curve of her necklace hits at just the right point to balance the width of her face. All good. And then the extra embellishment on the necklace mucks up those nice clear balance points. It's too bad.

Don't get me wrong. I like this necklace trend in general. I like stuuuuff. (I promise this is the last time I will quote Clueless in this forum.) Necklaces with multiple embellishments can add significant visual interest to your look. But if they draw that interest to the wrong spot, you haven't accomplished anything.

Florida cool

We've talked before about Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's ease with casual wear when she's back in her home state of Florida. Now let's look at another Floridian with casual style: gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink:

Ms. Sink is speaking to a reporter from a beach, which is a tricky locale. They're there to talk about the shoreline and the oil spill, not on vacation, so she can't wear completely casual clothes. No bathing suits, no terry cloth. But if she showed up on the beach in a suit, that would look odd too. She finds just the right medium in a brightly colored t-shirt with a high crew neck. And then (and this is the real key to looking important, I think) she pairs the shirt with professional looking jewelry - the same stuff she might wear with a suit.  Because all the pieces are very simple, they don't look mismatched, just very grown up.

Using the Red Jacket for contrast

Senate candidate Linda McMahon's recent campaign ad pokes fun at her job as the CEO of the WWE, and she uses her clothes to add to the effect:

She wears the iconic red jacket, in a particularly iconic style - the collar and bracelet length sleeves strongly channel Jackie O, which reads as the epitome of femininity. But there's even more going on here. Her chain link choker length necklace adds a toughness to her look, just as she shows "toughness" standing up to the wrestlers in the interspersed clips. Each element of her appearance is feeding back in to the message she's trying to send. Very effective.

Bare arms are for cocktails

Remember that time when we talked about how dressy and professional are not the same thing, and people got all riled up? Well hang on to your pearls folks because we're gonna do it again.

Rep. Michele Bachmann was on Fox Business earlier this week to discuss the oil spill. She wore a black sleeveless top:

A sleeveless top with no layer over it isn't terribly professional to begin with. It's an awful lot of skin to show during a serious discussion of a major disaster. But just as in Governor Brewer's outfit that we discussed before, it's the combination of items here that really drives the complete outfit past the borders of professional. Sleeveless and multistrand necklace and dangling earrings and smoky eye makeup and she looks a bit like she came from happy hour in Georgetown.

Double duty jewelry

New Mexico Lt. Governor Diane Denish is unopposed in today's Democratic primary. In recent television appearances, she has learned how to make the state's distinctive style work for her:

This bold necklace serves two purposes:
1. Hammered silver is a pointed nod to the state's aesthetic heritage.
2. It's the perfect length to compliment the shape of her face.

Definitely a win-win.

Bold look, bold accessories

Rep. Maxine Waters chose a conservative gray jacket and a very bold silver necklace for a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the proposed Comcast-NBC merger:

This necklace is a difficult piece to pull off, but Ms. Waters does it beautifully. It works for her because:

• She has prominent facial features in proportion to the rest of her face. A prominent nose, full lips and big eyes balance out this bold pattern just below her face.
• The rest of her outfit is very simple. The jacket and blouse are in neutral colors with very simple lines, allowing her necklace to become the focal point.

How do you pull off your favorite bold accessories?

Too Many Circles for Elena Kagan

Whether or not you were expecting President Obama's announcement of Elena Kagan as his nominee for the Supreme Court, today's speeches were par for the course. Unfortunately, so was Ms. Kagan's jewelry:

This necklace and earring set is clearly a stand-by for the Solicitor General, worn frequently at her televised appearances. They're just not doing her any favors. The stark round shapes fight against the straight lines in her features and emphasize the roundness of her chin. The necklace is also a bit too long - if it hit her collar bone higher up, where the neckline of this dress falls, it would be in better harmony with the shape of her face.

She looks vibrant, healthy and even a bit more feminine than usual, in part because of the warm green color of her jacket and in part because of a warmer make up palette, both of which bring color to her face.

For now, Supreme Court hearings are not televised, but Ms. Kagan's comments in the past seem to indicate that that could change. I hope she's ready.