When the suit doesn’t fit

We use phrases that reveal the ways we all recognize how clothing works to reveal one's state of mind. We are in control of ourselves and our clothing -- 'fits like a glove' or 'pull up your socks.' When we lose control, the clothing lets everyone know: 'caught with your pants down' and 'ride their …

It’s not black and white

Let's talk a bit about the pandemic, about the informal Presidential family-based administration, and about insecurity and power. Let's talk Ivanka. Ivanka's "pandemic fashion" has been odd, static and stilted even beyond her typical two-dimensional style. While she has worn other colors, most published photographs of her in the past 90 days have shown her …

Collared

Recent news coverage of a disastrous BBC interview with Prince Andrew has meant that the web is full of resuscitated images of him. As he is a member of the royal family in the UK, plus had a highly visible divorce from Sarah Ferguson, there are hundreds of unique images out there. Here are four …

Pure Hearts Aim True

Saturday's March 24 March for Our Lives included short performances by several singers: Jennifer Hudson (age 36), Miley Cyrus (age 25), Audra Day (33), and Ariana Grande (age 24). We're going to talk about the women, because the men wore a mix of casual tshirts, jeans, and pants. But the women showed up in a …

Portrait of a man

Kehinde Wiley and Barack Obama unveil Mr. Obama's portrait February 12, 2018. What struck me about Mr. Wiley's portrait was actually his suit -- a enlarged windowpane plaid, black with white detailing. And I don't want to talk about Mr. Wiley's fashion statement per se (the suit even drew comment from Mr. Obama). Rather, I …

Get angry, not “nonchalant”

I, a middle-aged middle-western middle-class-income gal can indeed be snooty enough to say, "Not Impressed" by the Isabel Marant collection at Nordstrom. In fashion spreads I've goggled over the 'coolness' of the Isabel Marant clothes that show up, especially on actresses who slouch about on chaises and sofas looking like they don't really care about …

Cold-Shoulder Warriors

On October 17, 2017, Reese Witherspoon spoke at the Elle Magazine's Women in Hollywood event, and she explained that she, like so many stars in Hollywood and women in the larger world, was sexually assaulted -- for her, as a young teen girl. Ms. Witherspoon is best known for her 2001 role as Elle Woods …

What (I wore when it) Happened

In June 2016 Hillary Clinton accepted the nomination in a white pantsuit designed by Ralph Lauren. The outfit echoed a man's suit jacket, with widened lapels, a deeper v-cut in the front, and a wider skirt to the jacket. She wore white on white on white, a deliberate reference to the deployment of white by …

Mean girls

Grace's life is undone, dismantled, broken apart when her husband Robert declares his undying love for his law partner, Sol. With the loss of their life partners, their social position, and their homes, Frankie, Sol's soon-to-be ex-wife, and Grace create their own unique bond of female friendship. In the Netflix series Grace and Frankie starring Jane …

Suit Up for the Fight

Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Clay in 1942) straightens Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's (born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor in 1947) in this Time Magazine photo from 1967.  They were in Cleveland -- Ali had refused to enter the draft, taking instead an anti-Vietnam War stance. A group of athletes, including young Kareem, met to support his decision. I recently heard …