It's a match

Rep. Mary Kaptur appeared on Washington Journal this week to discuss defense spending. She wore royal blue:

You can guess what I'm going to say, right? One too many details - the ruffled lapel, the necklace, the House pin and THEN the earrings that match the jacket. It's time to turn to Coco Chanel: before you leave the house, take one thing off.

Her lipstick is great, though. It's a rich color for day, but it works because her lips aren't super full.

Wasserman-Schultz and Shea-Porter stricken by blue eyeshadow

I had hoped that by now, in 2010, we would all be on the same page about blue eyeshadow. It has a role to play, but that role is not "matching the blue clothes I'm wearing." Unfortunately, two members of Congress were on some other page during the health care debate.

First, it was Debbie Wasserman-Schultz:

My concern about this eyeshadow is not just the color, it's also the shimmery formulation. Because Rep. Wasserman-Schultz has fuller eyelids, she would benefit from a matte shadow instead, in a neutral color. Stila has a really nice matte shadow right now.

Then blue eyeshadow showed up again, even brighter, on Carol Shea-Porter:

It's tempting to say "just say no to blue eyeshadow" but of course that isn't true. You should know by now that I'm a never say never kind of girl when it comes to fashion and beauty. But there is such a thing as too much color, and this is it. Rep. Shea-Porter might do well by trying a soft eyeliner and no shadow at all, focusing instead on some more color on the lip. Her suit is so saturated, the rest of the look needs to be simple.

Carly Fiorina's convention speech manicure

Carly Fiorina spoke at the California Republican Convention this month. She wore red:

And I do mean RED. Obviously, she has a perfectly tailored suit in a bright tomato red that is a bit outside the color palette we usually see on her. It's an interesting juxtaposition between the power color and the femininity of the ruffle details. Reminds us of another woman in politics, doesn't it?

But check out her hand holding the microphone: her nails are painted the same red. Matching the nails to the clothes only works in red, and even then it's a tough look to pull off, although she does. Nail color is probably the only

place in your wardrobe where red can actually be considered a neutral. Try this look in pink and you'll look like a deranged housewife from Edward Scissorhands.

The other important feature of this manicure is that her nails are short and natural. It's just a good buff and a few coats of polish like Essie Red Nouveau.

Pelosi defends handling of Massa, matches her necklace to her jacket

Rachel Maddow asked Nancy Pelosi in an interview this week about her opinion of the House Ethics Committee's handling of Eric Massa's resignation. The Speaker wore a jacket, shell and necklace all in the same color palette:

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

I'm not against matching on principle, as some of my fashion colleagues are these days. But I don't think this look works as well for the Speaker as it could. She needs more contrast in her clothing, both between the items of clothing and between her clothes and her skin. Although obviously the jacket and shell are in green shades, the tone is close to her skin, which opposes the strong contrast between her skin and her hair.

If she changed out the necklace or the shell or both for a deep, warm forest green, this jacket would work a lot better for her. Or maybe switch to a blouse with some embellishment on the collar, like this Robert Rodriguez on Bluefly.

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.

Clinton on nuclear proliferation in North Korea

I love this navy/acqua color combination on Secretary Clinton. It brings out her eyes and warms up her complexion. The lapels of this jacket are maybe a little wide, but other than that, it's great. Also, notice that the earrings match the necklace, matches the shirt, but it all works and doesn't look frumpy.

Olympia Snowe

I'm sure you noticed Olympia Snowe in the press this week after she voted with the Democrats to move the health care reform bill out of the Senate Finance Committee. She looked great doing it:

The sharp contrast between her black blouse and light jacket compliments the contrast between her hair and skin tone. Her jewelry is tasteful but still interesting, and matches her outfit well. This is a great example of how far too much is made of a fear of being "matchy." Sometimes matching is very elegant.

Senator Snowe also wears her hair longer than a lot of women in politics. There is no rule that your hair has to be shorter as you get older. If you care for it well and keep it out of your face, long hair can be a great look, especially if you have a strong nose like the senator does.