Giffords resigns in style

Gabrielle Giffords released a video announcement of her resignation from Congress this week. She chose the classic power color: red.

This video also shows a montage of images of Rep. Giffords from before and after the shooting. If you ever wanted to see an example of how the colors you wear should change when you change your hair color, this is a very good one. From whites and pastels as a blond, to reds and saturated colors as a brunette, clearly she's had some good advice.

The stunning return of Gabrielle Giffords

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords made an unexpected but timely return to the House yesterday. She wore blue:


No commentary here, I just wanted you to see the footage. May none of you ever need advice for what to wear after something as terrible as what this woman has been through.

Distracting Accessories: Different causes, similar results

Accessories have a special power for women getting dressed. As we've seen over and over, they can add a much needed accent of color or style, or they can distract so aggressively from our message that we almost can't be heard.

Last week, we saw two examples that were distracting for different reasons.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords slipped up by adding too many accessories in one outfit:

Dangling earrings and chunky necklace and flower brooch and cuff bracelet is definitely too much. [As an aside, she has also changed her hair color and style so significantly since her official portrait was taken that I nearly thought I had misidentified her in the video. The flower brooch, though, has remained the same.]

Meanwhile, Senator Susan Collins made a different but equally distracting choice with this two-strand necklace:

There are two reasons why this necklace is distracting. The first is that the shorter strand is too short for her face shape. The second is that the bold shape of her jacket collar probably requires no necklace at all, or at least one that is more delicate and lighter colored.

With accessories, less is frequently more.