Monday, November 9, 2009

Justice Sotomayor-Fashion Emergency

The sartorial expression of Sotomayor chic has been the subject of controversy since the decidedly dowdy new Supreme Court Justice first appeared as nominee to the post. The Washington Post’s Robin Givhan was restrained in her criticism of the Wise Latina look:
“Her wardrobe, as she sat for her daily grilling by the Senate Judiciary Committee, did not reflect the fashion industry's constant refrain. In fact, it did not even appear to have been influenced by the 21st century. Instead, Sotomayor's clothes evoked authority in the manner of a 1980s lady power broker.
And while a wing of the fashion industry has been enraptured by the styles of the 1980s, its focus has been more on embellished military jackets, harem pants and jersey dresses that look as though they might spontaneously combust on a particularly hot day. That is not the part of 1980s fashion history Sotomayor was channeling. She embraced that period in fashion when femininity had no place in the executive suite.’
She, in Givhan's words, left her gender at the door.” http://jezebel.com/5318648/critique-of-sotomayors-fashion-choices-falls-flat
Given the seriousness and dignity of the position she was applying for, coupled with Sotomayor’s general frumpiness http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/16/judge-sotomayors-suits-wh_n_236042.html , something more feminine was probably out of the question. Showing up in spandex or a halter top would likely have put the kibosh on the carefully orchestrated Sotomayor roll-out.
As it turns out, the presentation of the Wise Latina was far more intricately organized by the Obama team image-makers than we realized. According to NBC news:
“(Sotomayor,) The Yale Law School grad talked about shopping for clothes to wear to her acceptance ceremony, but government officials took over the fashion decisions. They told her to bring five suits and then recommended which one she should wear.” http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/politics/Justice-Sotomayor-says-White-House-Left-Nothing-to-Chance-64724512.html
If B.O. and the Keystone Fashion Cops in charge of the executive branch couldn’t trust Red Sonia http://ezinearticles.com/?Red-Judge,-Blue-Judge---Science-and-Sonia-Sotomayor---Research-Reveals-Judicial-Bias-to-Be-Common&id=2612211 to pick out the right outfits to wear to her confirmation hearings, do you think they trust her to make the right decisions on the bench?

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