July 29, 2016

What she wore.

As the NYT fashion writer Vanessa Friedman put it:
In her white suit, with her white crew neck underneath, Mrs. Clinton looked supremely unflappable: perfectly tailored and in control. Not a hair out of place (but some hair nicely waved). The kind of person who could carry the nuclear codes with aplomb.
... carry the nuclear codes with aplomb....

I'd like to draw that... carrying the nuclear codes with a plum....

I thought white was a good color choice. Friedman notes it's the color Geraldine Ferraro wore in 1984 to accept the nomination for vice president and that it's traditionally held to symbolize purity.

What I noticed about the white was that it wasn't any of those other colors — like that atrocious one I thought of as "swimming pool" that she wore in her event introducing Tim Kaine.

Sometimes men wear white suits. There's Tom Wolfe and Colonel Sanders and John Lennon on the cover of "Abbey Road." But imagine a male presidential candidate stepping out in a white suit. You'd think he was a lunatic. They wouldn't say he could carry the nuclear codes with aplomb. And if he showed up in a plum-colored suit, we'd say...



... man, go.

56 comments:

Rumpletweezer said...

With respect to the nuclear codes and safety, I'd just like to point out that Trump has a carry permit and, as far as I know, hasn't shot anyone. I absolutely hate it when people force me to defend someone I don't like.

buwaya said...

White suits are a matter of fashion and season.
In the old days white suits were standard wear if the occasion called for them. Growing up, all the important men wore white suits, but it was the tropics.
I remember, daily, meeting, my great-uncle early in the mornings, him in white suit (and tie), cane and pith-helmet, taking his morning paseo on Manilas Dewey Boulevard, me in declasse jogging togs. Which one was more bizarre to the other?

buwaya said...

The Philippine mango is the king, or queen, of fruits, the ne plus ultra.

buwaya said...

To complicate matters, the gentleman in the white suit and pith helmet was a communist.

Ron said...

In Japanese culture, white is the color of death.

TreeJoe said...

I love the continued elitism. Donald Trump wears poorly fitting suits with a bad haircut and has done so for decades, successful in business, and is currently topping polls.

Hillary is perfectly coiffed and has been since 2008, unsuccessful in leadership, and is struggling in the polls.

And yet really, what the country needs is someone who dresses the part.

I love the rebellion against appearances. That is what this election is in many ways - a rebellion against carefully crafted appearances.

BarrySanders20 said...

Famous white suit wearing men:

John Travolta
Elvis
Michael Jackson

The only famous politican who wore a white suit was Boss Hogg

Tommy Duncan said...

I thought white was a good color choice... it's traditionally held to symbolize purity.

Even her choice of pants suit color is a lie. This is like the prostitute who wears a white gown at her wedding.

rehajm said...

I'd vote for the mango over her.

Limited blogger said...

She looked marvelous

Big Mike said...

I don't think I'd care to have someone who famously proclaimed that Republicans are my number one enemy having access to the nuclear codes.

And I agree with Rumpletweezer.

David Begley said...

Could the NYT suck up any more?

The NYT defines the term "courtier."

shiloh said...

So Hillary is aplomb while Trump is a plum.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

Orange suits her best.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

In last night's rerun of Pushing Daisies, a Colonel Sanders-like character got murdered by getting pushed into his own fryer.

He ended up extra crispy.

Brought back to life for one minute, he got to deliver a howler: "Now I know how the chickens felt."

Irene said...

When she stepped out, I said, "Fantasy Island."

buwaya said...

I bet every US President from Grover Cleveland to Richard Nixon owned a white suit.

Wince said...

"But imagine a male presidential candidate stepping out in a white suit. You'd think he was a lunatic."

I cooked your food, I cleaned your house,
And this is how you pay me back for
All my kind, unselfish, loving deeds,
Hah?
Well you just wait, they'll find you yet
And when they do they'll put you in the ASPCA you mangey mutt!

And

They're coming to take me away, Ha-ha
They're coming to take me away, Ho-ho
Hee-hee-haa-haa
To the funny farm
Where life is beautiful all the time
And I'll be happy to see those
Nice young men in their clean white coats and
They're coming to take me away, ha-ha!

chuck said...

The whole Democratic Hillary narrative is hilariously fraudulent. Frankly, if I were Bill Clinton I'd worry about Hillary getting the nuclear codes...

dustbunny said...

Did they use polling data to arrive at white? Is a bear Catholic? We know black was immediately eliminated even though she looks better and slimmer in it. Red is too red-state, Nancy Reaganish. Michelle owned blue and banished for a while the Monica blue dress. Purple is too in between, green is everything she isn't. Orange was good but too eccentric for a major speech. White is the reflection of light and the presence of all colors. It is everything she is not but it sent the right message to her fans. The fact that it fit badly did not seem to be a factor in the Byzantine fashion decisions that Hillary handlers encounter daily.

mikee said...

White is also the color of true faithfulness.
Even her clothes are a lie.

And I recall that Meryl Streep wore an almost identical white jacket (albeit with a dress) in her final scene at the convention as Eleanor Shaw in the (utterly horrible) remake of The Manchurian Candidate. I could not find a clip of Angela Lansbury in the same role & scene, in the utterly wonderful original, but I think she, too was wearing white.

Hillary is just messin' with us at this point. She knows she has the election stolen already, and is just having some fun before running the most boring, minimalist campaign necessary before the vote counts are releashed, showing she's won.

William said...

Daenerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons on Games of Thrones, wears white. Cersei, the mother of tyrants, tends to wear orange a lot. I think the white clothes on Daenerys are meant to indicate that she burns with a pure white flame, and the orange clothes on Cersei signify the carbon impurity of how her world is illuminated........Hollywood really screwed up with Game of Thrones. Cersei, when she's plotting something truly evil, has a look that uncannily mirrors that of Hillary when she talks about her love for the working people of America......I think the white outfit was an allusion to Daenerys and an effort to draw attention away from Hillary's unfortunate resemblance to Cersei......Hollywood further screwed up by having no evil characters on the show who resemble Donald Trump. The election will be over by the time next season's shows are released. How did this happen?

Susan said...

Well we all know Sauruman the White turned out.

Lawler Walken said...

The President doesn't actually carry the nuclear codes. There's an aide who does that. Some military person.

As usual, it's not enough just to write that Hillary wore a flattering white pants suit when she gave her speech. Her "accomplishments" always have to be expanded into something great and profound, so it's Hillary wore a flattering white pants suit and we can now so easily see her carrying a briefcase with the nuclear codes in them and that means --not just that she looks dressed to handle luggage in a capable manner although there's that too!-- no, it's more than that, it's because she is clearly the person best able to cope with what's in the luggage, to unpack that suitcase and key in those codes and launch those nuclear missiles all over the place.

Not that the President actually does any of that either but well, you know, she'll supervise!

mikee said...

William, Daenerys inhabits a damn hot desert country. White is what one wears in hot desert countries, unless the only cloth available is some other color.

Joe Veenstra said...

Click here

I believe in freedom but anyone wearing this shirt should be prohibited from even running for office.

Apparently he beat his ex and/or annulled wife.

Anonymous said...

Petty, petty, petty.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

There's an aide who does that.

From what I've read from the people who work for her, Hillary isn't even capable of making herself a cup of tea or programing a DVR. Our entitled queen would surely have someone carry the briefcase for her.

Rocketeer said...

I would suggest you google "Benny Hinn white suit." That's what she looked like to me: huckster preacher come to pick our pockets.

Curious George said...

"Limited blogger said...
She looked marvelous"

An ocean of scotch couldn't make her look marvelous.

Quaestor said...

And if he showed up in a plum-colored suit, we'd say... Zorro!

Darrell said...

Colonel Sanders without the delicious chicken

William said...

I think that Hillary should take to wearing a hijab on occasion. This would show her solidarity with the many American Muslim women who have encouraged their children to join our military and fight ISIS. Even more than appearing with Mike Brown's mother, such an act would demonstrate her inclusiveness and give ordinary Americans a compelling reason to vote for her.

el polacko said...

i thought it was the height (depth?) of misogyny to comment on a woman's clothing rather than her dazzling brainpower.

Quaestor said...

She looks very suitable in orange. She even knows how to hold hers arms to be frisked for shivs, knuckledusters, hash pipes, lamps, first edition books, busts of Abe Lincoln, first-strike nuclear codes,and other things she's been known to hurl.

Darrell said...

her dazzling brainpower

Hillary was the smartest woman in the world before we learned that she flunked the DC Bar Exam--one of the easiest in the country. Now we talk about her clothes.

Rusty said...

Unknown said...
Petty, petty, petty.

Oh, the irony.

Rusty said...

Custom fitted prison toggs

Quaestor said...

Colonel Sanders without the delicious chicken

Nurse Ratched with lots of delicious thorazine!

Curious George said...

"Rusty said...
Custom fitted prison toggs"

With bright shiny shackles. Fabulous!

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mary Beth said...

The white suit was nice. She totally did not look like an egg.

Leslie Graves said...

Some of the folks on Twitter last night were associating photos of her white ensemble with this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privil%C3%A8ge_du_blanc

Titus said...

I normally despise all her hideous wardrobe choices. The colors, necks, everything.

Last night was an excellent choice.

Eleanor said...

White is the color the suffragists wore. I'm 99% sure that's why she chose it.

Martin said...

"Carry the nuclear codes with aplomb"? And we are supposed to take Clinton seriously because all the smart and cool people are for her?

If she were a man would we be talking about her wardrobe?

Just_Mike_S said...

How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb with aplomb. Because being able to pull off a nuclear holocaust is all about attitude!

Martha said...

White was a terrible choice. Made her rump look HUGE. Also not Presidential.
Hillary! looks best and most professional in dark colors.
IMO

mockturtle said...

I agree, Martha. Royal blue seems to flatter her the most. I did notice that both she and Bill had received some kind of face treatments.

stylecounciler said...

White was a good choice. You could barely see her adult diaper.

rehajm said...

If she's going to continue to give speeches Bill's attire will include a neck pillow...

Ctmom4 said...

@ Eleanor "White is the color the suffragists wore. I'm 99% sure that's why she chose it." That is what I read. I am sure it was focus grouped.

Captain Drano said...

Melania has been mainly wearing white and off white (and wearing it very well) since the beginning of the campaign, as have many of the Trump women.

So Hillary, in true form, probably decided to co opt that. Maybe she has BPD.

MacMacConnell said...

White is what queens wear to their coronations. So it's appropriate for the Queen of Grifters to wear white last night or is it the Queen of Wall Street or Queen of Hedge Funds?

damikesc said...

I'll note, as usual, that the discussion of what the female candidate is wearing is not being done by men.

Funny, the media --- yet again --- could find no negative in the DNC. Every single year it's a home run. It's truly amazing.

southcentralpa said...

Carry it ... insult with aplomb the military officer whose job it is to carry it ... Po-tay-to ... po-tah-to