Kamala Harris’ acceptance outfit

[HoxtHun]

Vanessa Friedman nicely outlines the motivations behind political dressing:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/23/style/kamala-harris-dnc-suit.html?unlocked_article_code=1.FU4.f8qP.a6qWBDwIq1Pt&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

Kamala Harris' suit is a stylish suit. It's a gazillion times better than Hillary Clinton's terrible pant suits.

Here's a full length picture. It looks as if she's wearing heels.

Obviously if that's what she wants to wear , great. It's a good suit. But it's depressing that she's getting praised for wearing a trouser suit

Here's Michelle Obama on why she kept her hair straight in the White House, and is wearing it natural now "Let me keep my hair straight and get healthcare passed."
Michelle Obama is ready to let her hair shine (harpersbazaar.com)

This. Theresa May has a great wardrobe, but she's not had to break any glass ceilings.

The US is an extremely misogynist country.

Up against Trump who makes the most irrelevant, inane, stupid and false points about anyone and everyone - points that many millions of American voters believe and vote on the basis of - I suspect she’s giving him fewer talking points. If he told his women voters that her dress sense belied a communist/radical/un-Christian streak, they’d believe him.

President of the United States isn’t a nothing job. Clothing choices for a man or a woman shouldn’t distract or detract from the politics. Anything extraordinary would. I’m happy for her to be sartorially boring and politically interesting. She too has only 24 hours in her day. I’d rather she’d spend as many of those working than thinking about clothes.

While I think Condoleeza Rice was a fantastic example of appropriate but stylish dressing for high office, I think Kamala is right playing it safe. It shouldn't be but any woman is at a disadvantage to a man in this game and at least she is avoiding the ill fitting, too colourful horrors that Hillary Clinton wore during her Presidential campaign.

I think they all, men and women, end up in a sort of uniform really. It must be like armour, whether Thatch with her neat suits and pussy bows or dark trouser suits (both sexes)

Were I in her position (fat chance 🤣) I’d buy myself a “uniform”. Five sets of what I was most comfortable in in different colours so I didn’t have to think about it.

Condoleeza Rice had fabulous clothes. She carried them off really well. Looking back now at photos she has the Jackie Kennedy touch that nothing she's wearing looks dated.

She doesn't strike me as someone who lets that stop her.

She literally did, as I posted in the article upthread, to make it easier for Barack to get his job done.

I do get why Harris would play it safe, I just don't regard needing to play it safe as a sign of progress.

@CharlotteRumpling Yep just saw, sorry missed that post. But equally, if it had been as 'in' then as it is now, she probably would have. I don't know. Women in politics are indeed judged on far more things than men are.

I know it shouldn't matter but after flipping through photos of Condoleeza Rice, Kamala Harris' trouser suit is a bit dull.

It isn't, but who's saying it is? Harris just has to play the cards she's dealt.

You have to remember a couple of exceedingly conservative television networks went berserk when Obama wore a beige suit and Michelle Obama wore a sleeveless dress. They deemed the couple entirely classless. Harris remembers.

It isn't, but who's saying it is? Harris just has to play the cards she's dealt.

I don't particularly want to single any out but there are several posts describing it as 'brilliant' 'great choice' etc.

That's not the same as deeming her choice progressive. Sadly, in this context, a great choice is one the misogynists can't attack i.e. boring.

Yeah maybe 'progressive' was a poor choice of word. I'm not sure why we're arguing really - like I've said, I understand why Harris would play safe with her wardrobe. It just seems a shame though (to me personally, not necessarily anyone else) that the trouser suit, which used to be an interesting and even subversive outfit, has become so dull that it's the preferred choice of politicians.

This.
if she were male and wearing the ‘quirky’ choices of floral patterned shirts or slightly out there ties he’d be either ignored or slightly patronised. A woman who seems too interested in her clothes would be at best dismissed as being frivolous.

Suits are fascinating symbols of masculine authority imo. I would love a female leader to be almost brazenly a female leader iyswim rather than disappearing into neutrality, and continuing the underlying assertion that powerful = inherently masculine.

Perhaps the reason is simply she doesn't like her legs, has bad veins or something.

True, we've come a long way from Le Smoking and Hepburn trousers being note-worthy.

Maybe that is progressive after all?

I would love a female leader to be almost brazenly a female leader iyswim rather than disappearing into neutrality, and continuing the underlying assertion that powerful = inherently masculine.

Margaret Thatcher

I thought her outfit was superb. When giving her speech, it was all about her upper body. That jacket and blouse scream quality and intention. I'll never own a suit that good in my life.

If she becomes president she can start bringing in her own personality, but this election is on a knife edge and she knows she must exude capability and professionalism to the exclusion of all else.

If she only wears suits like this for the rest of her career then bloody good luck to her.

Oh and Nicola Sturgeon. There was nothing masculine about her dress style but she certainly imposed her presence and authority (although it has satisfyingly ended badly)

One thing I'm taking from this thread is the possibility that I might be starting to get bored with wearing trousers myself and that, rather than projecting my boredom onto Kamala Harris, I should perhaps be investigating a big pouffy dress for autumn. But that's a whole other conversation.

Anyway Margaret Thatcher - a few years ago I'd have eaten my own head rather than admit it but yes, I can see now that there was a lot more to her wardrobe than navy blue suits. I'm sure I've read one of her staff saying how much she enjoyed clothes and that she loved talking about them.

Bespoke Chloe, @MorrisZapp.

To be specific, she chose a navy blue pantsuit — the color of the commander in chief — with sharp shoulders and peaked lapels paired with a matching navy pussy-bow blouse. The suit was from Chloé, the French label designed by Chemena Kamali, which also made the tan suitthat caused such a ruckus when Ms. Harris wore it for her surprise appearance on Day 1 of the convention.

From the NYT article …