In the realm of fashion and politics, Hillary Clinton is often referred to as Queen of the Pantsuit. This choice isn’t just a fashion choice, but a statement within itself. Many articles have been written on why Clinton chooses to dress this way. In many of these articles, specifically CNBC, she states one her reasoning for this choice in a quote that reads “I… thought it would be good to do what male politicians do and wear more or less the same thing every day.” In that same article she states that she has another reason for wearing them in a quote that reads “A uniform was also an anti-distraction technique: since there wasn’t much to say or report on what I wore, maybe people would focus on what I was saying instead,”. However, the exact event that caused Clinton to no longer wear skirts or dresses occurred in Brazil in 1999. She described the event in an article by the Guardian in which she tells the story of how suggestive photos were once taken of her by the Brazilian press and used for lingerie ads. After that incident, she decided that she would only wear pantsuits to avoid situations like these or anything similar. With this decision came criticism from the media as they critiqued her fashion choices. Before her presidential campaign in 2016 a colleague of Clinton’s, Cecily Strong, urged the media not to focus on Hillary’s fashion but instead her work and what she had to say. Despite Hillary dressing differently from many of the women previously talked about, the media still found ways to comment on her outfit choices throughout the campaign. A Vogue article touched on this issue by writing “Clinton thought she was being steadfast and trustworthy in her go-to pantsuits and in the end, the judgment overwhelmed.”. Even when dressing similar to their male counterparts women in politics still face criticism. During my research though it was nice to see many article highlighting the beauty and boss mentality that lies within a pantsuit
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/06/hillary-clinton-pantsuit-brazil-lingerie-ad
https://www.vogue.com/article/fashion-runway-repeating-outfit-men-women
Wow! I am a fan of Hillary Clinton and never knew the reasoning behind her wearing pantsuits all of the time. It takes a lot of courage for a woman to step into a male dominated field and make statements both in politics and fashion. Aside from politics, she is an inspiration for women everywhere. From women in church shifting away from wearing long skirts to now wearing pants and pantsuits and ladies in law wearing the same style suits as men but making it more feminine. This is the type of wholesome content that the media should be discussing occasionally instead of the negative tweets or other redundant social media posts that politicians make.
ReplyDeleteI found this post really interesting. I never thought about the relevancy with fashion and politics before, but the two clearly hold a link. Women in the media are constantly held to different standards when it comes to clothing - you hardly ever see an article written about any celebrity/notable figure that is a man and what he is wearing. The only one that comes to the top of my head is Adam Sandler. The reason Clinton wears pantsuits is unfortunate, but I think it makes a bold statement in politics. She's ultimately saying she's no different than the men around her, and the clothes are another thing that don't make her any different because she can wear suits, too. Very nicely written article!
ReplyDelete