Remembering Ferraro, and her wardrobe

Last year, we took a look back at Geraldine Ferraro's look during her 1984 vice presidential run. Her passing yesterday has produced a flurry of memorial articles accompanied by images from that time, all the way through last year.

One of the most common is an AP file photo from '84 where is she wearing glasses, long pearls and an argyle sweater vest. At the time, it was a common preppy look but now she looks....pedantic? dorky? Part of that is certainly the pose. But this is not the kind of look she is typically remembered for.






It's usually something more like her Time cover, or the white suit she wore to accept the nomination, which features in this CNN clip, along with lots of other great '80s fashion:



ABC News has helpfully assembled a slide show of Ferraro through the years. I was most struck by the fact that objectively, she was always very much in style with career women of any given year, even if she did refer to herself as "a Queens housewife."

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.

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. 

Pointed Purple

Barbara Boxer spoke on the Senate floor this week about foreign oil. She wore a purple blazer:

A one button blazer a a bright, saturated color like this can veer in the direction of the cliche of the woman politician in the "colored suit." But this blazer works quite well - it is a flattering color for her, it is perfectly fitted, and it is paired with simple jewelry and a plain white shirt.

The key to wearing this much color is frequently to make that single garment the showcase and let the rest of the look recede.

Animal prints on television

We've talked about prints on television quite a lot, and it may seem sort of arbitrary what "works" and what ends up all wavy looking. But consider what happened when Rep. Barbara Lee made remarks last week on the House floor in honor of Black History Month.  Here she is on c-span:




And now here she is again, with video uploaded to YouTube:



A dramatic difference, isn't it?  As the video quality breaks down, so does the pattern on her jacket.  She looks great in HD, but not in you average web video.  Same camera, same footage, different results.

Who is the trend setter?

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.

It isn't summer yet

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito made remarks on the House floor this week about Energy Department funding. She wore a tangerine blazer and a black top:

This color is unexpected for a professional setting, and mostly distracting, especially in the middle of winter. Bright pastels, when appropriate at all, are typically a summer look. It's also tough to pair such a light pastel color with a harsh, solid black layer underneath.

Go nude

Senator Kay Hagan appeared on local television in her home state of North Carolina recently to discuss job creation. She wore her signature color, red:

The senator chose to pair this true red suit with opaque black hose. Although opaque hose are usually recommended for daytime instead of sheer ones, the black and red contrast really sharply here. It makes the legs look heavy and the suit look like it might be out of season. If ever there were an instance for "nude" hose, this was it.

I know some women of the younger generation find the mere mention of nude hose anathema, but I hope here you can see how the senator would have benefited from a sheer leg covering in a color close to her skin tone. It would actually be much more natural looking.

Trend on trend

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.

Is blue the new pink?

Rep. Michele Bachmann's remarks opened the CPAC conference last week. She wore a blue suit:

We have increasingly seen Ms. Bachmann appearing in these buttoned up silhouettes and shades of blue. Could her signature pink cardigans and girly accessories officially be a thing of the past? She certainly looks like the major player here that her position on the docket implies. It's certainly a far cry from the playful, colorful look she was sporting on the campaign trail with Sarah Palin.

Longer isn't leaner

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers appeared on ABC News last week to discuss Congressional spending. She wore navy blue:

The Congresswoman paired this jacket with a cowl neck blouse and a long necklace. The neckline of the blouse is just right, meeting her first balance point nicely after her new hairstyle. But the necklace is very distracting. Not only does it drag well below the best length for her face, it competes with the detail that the cowl neckline of the blouse already adds to the outfit. I would skip it, especially with the dangling earrings.

Many women gravitate towards long necklaces and scarves post-pregnancy, feeling self-conscious around the midsection. But it's worth remembering - if you weren't tall enough or bohemian enough to carry off these accessories before, your baby hasn't changed that. Long necklaces, like black, can be "slimming," but not automatically.

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???