Here is a view of her silver shift with matching jacket:
Here we can see the sleeve, turned up to three-quarter length, which is perfectly on-trend this spring:
By Victor Juhasz for Rolling Stone
This fabric has a little bit of sheen to it, which is only a bit problematic in the bright sunlight here. What's trickier is the continuation of a single color in the whole outfit, especially when it's a light one. It's the core of the problem with Hillary Clinton's pastel pantsuits that got her needled in the press for years. Matching suit pieces in a light color can sometimes make you look a bit like a cartoon character. This particular suit also bears an unfortunate similarity to a recent Bachmann parody in Rolling Stone: Her supporters won't be likely to make this comparison immediately, but others might.
Gray isn't turning up in Bachmann's wardrobe just for this announcement, though. We saw another (more familiar) gray suit in her pre-announcement media appearances as well:
The trouble with gray is less about the semantic implications of it sounding dull, and more to do with it having the potential to be dull. So far, Bachmann has avoided that fate. Although a color that complements your complexion can an extraordinarily effective tool for looking good, medium gray is also considered a "universal" color that looks good on everyone. (Want to know the others? Email me for a color consultation appointment!) But it seems unlikely that she can go on without color forever.
I'm officially declaring a color watch for the Bachmann 2012 campaign.
Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina spoke to the Columbia Tea Party last week. She wore a teal jacket:
The governor has chosen well from this spring's palette of popular colors with this soft green.
What's most notable about this jacket, though, is the design details; epaulets and flap pockets on the chest could be overwhelming for some. It works here because of Haley's specific proportions - she is tall and has an average size bust. Women with larger busts or shorter statures may well find this style difficult to carry off.
I had always planned to show you Secretary Clinton's remarks on Afghanistan and Pakistan last month:
And then on Sunday I watched the Oscars, and I knew we had to talk about this:
Square shoulders and cream colored Belgian lace overlay? I'm not sure it's the best look for either of them, but it is interesting to see how the lace trend that emerged on the runway three years ago has played itself out to this point. It's important to note that these are both evening looks - all over lace in the daytime would be great for a baby shower or a tea party, but probably not business.
Rep. Mary Bono Mack made a House floor speech last week on labor contract regulations for federal projects. She wore a black cardigan with a belt:
This look represents an excellent example of translating current trends into a professional look. Sticking to a neutral color palette has allowed her to add multiple other elements to the outfit without being too busy: a wide belt, a print blouse, and layered necklaces. She has also placed her House lapel pin in the position of a brooch, higher up on the shoulder, which integrates in into the look as naturally as it would be on the lapel of a man's suit.
It's holiday time, and it's easy to start focusing on what you'll wear for the parties each evening while losing sight of how those looks translate into day wear.
Have a look at the blazer Rep. Carolyn Maloney chose for an appearance on New York's Capital Tonight:
This shiny silver jacket is straight off a "day to night" page in a magazine.
But multipurpose dressing often doesn't translate well for television. Items that you can get away with in normal daylight look much less appropriate under the strong lights needed for television cameras. The effect is a lot of light being reflected back at us, distracting from Rep. Maloney's face and message.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano gave a press briefing last week on the border security bill. She wore brick red:
You know that I put only a limited emphasis on fashion and trends in this forum. But the combination of muted brick red with black collar and trim is so dated, I can't not say anything. It sort of reminds me of "holiday party" outfits that were popular about 15 years ago. The low contrast of the two colors, and the muted color palette aren't doing her any favors either.
As we've said before, a clear, true red would have been a much better choice for her.
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:
Pastel colors don't work for everyone. We know that. But if pastels are in your color palette (have you booked that color analysis consultation yet?) they're a great choice for summer. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison shows us how it's done:
The Senator makes spearmint into a power color by wearing it in a very structured jacket. The prominent shoulders are a subtle but effective nod to the '80s fashion moment we're having this year. She stands out against her male colleagues in the background in just the right way.
Black and white is a fun motif, but it's not for everyone.
Hillary Clinton paired this white jacket with a black top, and her coloring just can't take the contrast. She's also suffering from the white itself - it's too bright for her, and it's reflecting the light back at us and up on her face at all sorts of weird angles, making her look tired.
Even if you can pull off the black and white look, you need the right accessories. No pastels.
Mary Bono Mack probably chose this scarf to put some color near her face, but unlike Secretary Clinton, she doesn't really need it. She could pull of the black and white look with a simple necklace. This muted green actually washes her out. And do I even need to say it? She needs some lipstick.
Off-white is easier to wear. But don't overdo it.
Nancy Pelosi went for cream instead, but with long pants and a Nehru collar, that's a lot of one color, no matter what the color is.
I wouldn't have paired this with a taupe shell with a high neck the way she did though. A bright white scoop neck would have been summery and more open. She has a great hairstyle, though. It's coiffed without being stiff. Maybe just a touch of an anti-frizz product like Fekkai Advanced Brilliant Glossing Cream.
Senator Susan Collins chose a military-inspired look to present her financial reform amendment last week:
This look is successful, even as the senator walks some fine lines. Red, white and blue color combinations can be tricky, but this works because of the proportions and the shades involved - the blue is dark and the white is minimal. The prominent buttons that fit this jacket into the military trend are the focal point - her jewelry is minimal and there are no other accessories.
Just like Maxine Waters yesterday, the key is to keep it simple.
Last week, Claire McCaskill wore a black blazer with white trim for a Senate hearing on Medicare and Medicaid:
The soft curves of her lapel nicely echo the curves of her hair and face, for an effective, complementary look.
The bold contrast is also quite memorable, so I notice right away when Carly Fiorina wore a similar jacket on CNN:
It's similar, but not the same. In fact, it's different in a very important way: instead of a softly curved lapel, this lapel is much more angular, just as Ms. Fiorina's face and hairstyle are more angular. So it works for her in the same way Senator McCaskill's does. Trade jackets and it doesn't work anymore, even though they are (at first glance) so similar.
Rep. Donna F. Edwards gave remarks on the Defense Acquisition Bill this week. She wore a jacket that incorporates this spring's military trend:
The last time we saw the military trend on the House floor, my concern was that Rep. McMorris Rodgers had chosen a look that was not formal enough. Rep. Edwards doesn't have that problem, but nevertheless, this style is not working for her. The flaps on her breast pockets stand so far away from her chest, it looks like she could take flight at any moment. This is not the goal of the military style! Many jackets in this trend will have some kind of pocket flap or detail on one or both breasts. Just make sure they are small enough not to stick out. Have them sewn down if necessary - if they would look weird sewn down, that's how you know they aren't small enough.
Cathy McMorris Rodgers spoke at a Republican press conference this week on earmark reform legislation. She wore a tweed jacket with a purple blouse:
The Congresswoman has put together a fashion forward look that would be pretty successful in another context. But for a Hill press conference, this is a case of too much, too soon. A bold color (purple) AND pattern (black and white) AND texture (tweed) AND an unusual jacket silhouette (no collar, cropped sleeve) adds up to a look that is too far outside mainstream business attire to be truly effective. The visual juxtaposition of her standing between two male colleagues in solid suits, white shirts and blue ties is a strong one, and she doesn't come out ahead. She would have been better served by a plain white blouse here.
I suspect by now that everyone saw Tina Fey's appearance on SNL last night as Sarah Palin, but if you missed it, here it is:
She's recreating a Palin look from last month at a McCain rally, featuring a black leather motorcycle jacket. We've seen Palin in leather before, most memorably in a red fitted jacket during the 2008 campaign. Although I've said before that Palin's stylist made some serious missteps in the labels she chose for her client, for Palin, leather itself was an appropriate choice. She looked good, the jacket was on trend, and of course we know how much our leaders love red. Although this more recent jacket was perhaps not as successful from a style perspective, mostly because of the mash-up of jewelry that accompanied it, I see no reason why Palin shouldn't continue to include leather selectively in her wardrobe. The trend isn't going anywhere, and for her it provides sartorial support for her pro-hunting stance.
1. Faux leather. This idea has something of a bad rap, and to be sure, there's a lot of ugly vinyl out there. You do have to choose carefully, but finishes and textures of faux leather have improved dramatically in recent years, and it can often be hard to tell the difference.
That difficulty in telling the difference, though, could leave you with some problems. If the point you're trying to make is not to wear leather, then wearing something that looks so much like leather could at best go unnoticed and at worst leave you needing a press release to explain your jacket every time you wear it. Which leads me to...
2. Other materials. Motorcycle-style jackets come in a wide variety of materials now, creating a look at least as chic as the original leather designs. And in the case of cotton and linen, these can be light enough to wear well in to the spring.
Both of these alternatives also have the added benefit of being significantly less expensive than leather, which leaves some of your budget for other investments.
If Michele Bachmann didn't say the year at the start of this clip, you could be forgiven for guessing the year was perhaps 1984. Both she and Sarah Palin sport some serious throwback styles here:
Now, I know the '80s are having a comeback right now. But you have to be careful.
The combination of the stiff, shiny fabric, the yellow/black color combination, the standup collar and the pushed up sleeves on Rep. Bachmann's jacket cross the line from modern trend to dated look. Her teased hairstyle exacerbates the problem.
Sarah Palin is definitely suffering from a moment of over-accessorization. Jewelry + flag pin + sequined jacket = a lot of look. The layering of pearls and cross also reminds me very strongly of Like A Virgin-era Madonna, and I can't be the only one. I'm sure that's not what she was going for.
I don't know about you, but I'm rather disturbed by hearing Michele Bachmann introduce Sarah Palin by emphasizing, in part, that she is "drop dead gorgeous." Here we are, carefully considering what we wear to produce a polished, professional image, but if the first thing people have to say about us is that we're pretty, we'll go with that? To hell with professional and appropriate if we can be "drop dead gorgeous" instead? Don't get me wrong, gorgeous has a place. We all want to be gorgeous sometimes. But it shouldn't be a professional qualification unless you're a model. How disappointing.
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the level of formality in what women in the House were wearing during the health care debate varied widely. At no time was the variety more pronounced than when Allyson Schwartz spoke right after Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Here they are:
Rep. McMorris Rodgers is on this spring's military trend. It's a cool look, but the relaxed fit and cotton fabric of the jacket combined with the loosely tied scarf make it rather casual for the House floor. Maybe on a regular session day, but this was a big, high profile day, so I would have gone for something with more structure in a more powerful color.
Rep. Allyson Schwartz went in the opposite direction, both ideologically and with her look. Here we see the classic red jacket, gold necklace and carefully coiffed hair. She wore this with black pants, which kept the overall look more businesslike - had she gone for the matching red skirt and pumps, we might have thought she wandered in from an anniversary party instead of coming deliberately to work. I still think the overall effect is more dressy than professional, but not bad.
At least no one was wearing blue eyeshadow. Oh wait, that's tomorrow's topic!
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