Haley attacked by stripes

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley visited a Bosch facility in her state last week. She wore a striped blazer (sorry, the sound on this isn't great):


Oh my there is a lot going on with this jacket. We're not having our usual "patterns on television" problem, but it's making me dizzy just the same.
 

• The stripes are variable widths and have serrated edges, which makes the pattern much busier than a smooth edged, even width stripe would be.  The stripes on the sleeves are also not matched up with the stripes where it joins to the body, which is additionally jarring.

• The lapel features silver studs about the size of a nickel, adding an additional set of focal points.

• To this she further adds her usual jewelry: a cross and a US/SC flag pin.

All these details just completely take over. It's really hard to look at anything else.

The iconography of stripes

The opening of the Read My Pins exhibit at the Smithsonian got me thinking about the subtle and not-so-subtle messages we can send with what we wear. And then I happened to see this clip of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano:

First of all, these sharply contrasting stripes are awfully harsh for her. Your eye goes straight to the jacket, and her face starts to look pale by comparison. But secondly, there's the cultural reference of black and white stripes to contend with. No one is going to mistake Secretary Napolitano for a prisoner while appearing on CNN, but it's not an inference I would even want to suggest if I she were my client.