Comments on: What’s the point of judicial power if you don’t have Girl Power?

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:49:57 +0000

Sonia Sotomayor “left her gender at the door” by appearing before the Senate in a bright blue and bright red jacket, skirt, and black pantyhose (in other words, dressing like a 50-something-year-old professional woman)?

I would really like to see a male Supreme Court nominee try to get by with that ensemble.

She looked nice, and the red was a very good color on her.

She’s also not fat, except by Hollywood standards.

By: DC Resident

DC Resident — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:18:51 +0000

Robin Givhan is good when she writes about fashion shows and the clothes that are shown in them, but she is both mean and judgmental when she writes about individuals. And having read her Washington Post chats, I can tell you that she has no empathy or any kind of understanding that not everyone has had the worldly upbringing or experience or positions she expects. For instance, she savaged poor Susan Boyle, a sweet and unworldly woman who suffered mild brain damage at birth and had seldom been out of her little Scottish town.

I’ve reached the point where I refuse to read her non-fashion-show articles, because I really don’t need to deal with Robin Givhan being nasty to some other woman — the example of Cheney was given above, but he’s an exception, it’s almost always women, and she’s almost always a bitch.

By: Milla

Milla — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:00:39 +0000

I am so tired of people being miserable to Judge Sotomayor.
She completely deserves the confirmation.
There is nothing wrong with 80′s fashions either…I love the elegance and power of the structured dresses and suits of the era. I am a HUGE Claude Montana and Thierry Mugler fan.
I also love the powerful suits and structure of Joan Crawford-esque Adrian Gilbert designs.
I agree fashion is political. There is a certain “uniform” (which I avoid like the plague because it simply is not me) that is required of all women and men in a position of power (be it political or corporate): The conservative, standard business skirt/pant suit/dress with a blazer and hose and sensible pumps. The guy version is the standard business suit.
I hate wearing them but I am also aware that if I show up at a job interview in anything but, I will not get the job. Period.
And for a judge being interviewed for a gig in the Supreme Court, what she made were standard and appropriate choices. I mean what did this Givhan lady expect, an Herve Leger bandage dress? Come the heck on!!!!!
As a creative person who loves the crazier, artsier side of fashion conforming to a certain style of dressing IRKS me to no end. But if you want to work in certain fields, you know what is expected.
Thank you for another great article :-)

By: bronislawa blumschaefter

bronislawa blumschaefter — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:52:38 +0000

All I’ve read of Givhan are S.M.’s excerpts, but it sounds as though she is assuming that every Hispanic woman should want to show up in loud colors, tight skirts and a hat made out of fruit, like Carmen Miranda. A conservative business suit w/pantyhose and sensible heels is appropriate attire for a judge, appropriate attire for a Congressional hearing, and appropriate attire for a woman whose sprained ankle is still in the process of healing. To suggest anything else is to assume, in an ignorant, sexist , possibly racist, fashion, that Judge Sotomayor is there to show off anything other than her good brain, impressive credentials, and knowledge of the law.

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:00:54 +0000

Weighing in on the bare legs at court discussion: I work in a courthouse in S. California, and routinely wear skirts/dresses without hose. I even wear jeans on Fridays. However, were I to be appearing in court (like in the courtroom with a judge present), I would definitely be wearing a skirt/dress + hose or slacks. Moreover, I would be wearing a jacket or blazer, too. If I had to choose either the jacket or the hose, though, I'd definitely go with the jacket. My other observation: has Ms. Givhans never seen a female judge in her work-but-no-robe clothes? Because I see female judges all the time, and Judge Sotomayor's sartorial choices for her Senate appearance were very much in line with what I see other female judges wearing to work. In fact, it was very much in line with what powerful women in government wear -- as these photos of Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson(pic @left), Sec. of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano Governor Beverley Purdue, and Sec. of Health & Human Svcs Kathleen Sebelius show. Now, these women obviously pull the look off with varying degrees of success, and they each tweak it according to personal taste, but as you can see, Judge Sotomayor's clothing choices are clearly in the mainstream of "the look" for politically powerful women. Like it or lump it, this is a look that clearly works for women in the corridors of power.

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:00:15 +0000

By: Pinky

Pinky — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:39:27 +0000

I don’t read Givhan and am not inspired to do so. Last time a woman wore a sleeveless sheath dress to an official D.C. event:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/opinion/08dowd.html

By: DRST

DRST — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 06:15:57 +0000

living400lbs – amen! I think I wanted to go into filmmaking or writing because I could wear jeans almost all the time. :)

Unfortunately I ended up a professor at a fairly conservative private college, so while I can get away with jeans sometimes (like, say, when I just had abdominal surgery and can’t wear anything but jeans or sweatpants for months) but I have managed to find some plain denim or cotton twill pants that will do for work. I have much less problem finding shirts that work – plain t-shirts or sweaters, etc. I was ecstatic that polo shirts came back this year. I bought about 8 of ‘em and I might go back to Macys to get a few more.

The shoes are an ongoing problem. I probably need to find some orthopedic shoes that aren’t sneakers at some point. Rar.

DRST

By: KC Jones

KC Jones — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:50:18 +0000

*because nothing cools me better than wearing a skirt and being able to feel a breeze if one should so happen to pass on by

is what I think I meant to say lol

By: KC Jones

KC Jones — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 05:46:18 +0000

“I flat-out do not apply for jobs where Business Wear is Required”

Me too! Though I guess I should say, suit wear. I just cannot stand conformity-I think it grates on my soul. I like dressing up, but I hate being told just exactly how I should dress up. Sometimes I wear makeup and sometimes I don’t. I like to wear skirts to work, because never cools me better, but since I’m too lazy to shave and since I think pantyhose were invented by the nemesis of comfort-people will just have to be confused by my feminine skirts and hairy legs. I could never be a lawyer and admire people like Sotomayor, because that kind of compromise makes me too miserable. Right now with working at a major retailer, looking professional, is more about colors-I can only wear black, brown, white, khaki or a combination of those. Besides the fact that my store has unethical practices, (and I will leave it at that for now…) just the fact that I cannot wear bright colors is reason enough for me to look for another job. Oh yeah, and according to a former manager there, my glasses make me look “innocent” and I was congratulated when I wore contacts one day and proclaimed that I was now “one of them.” Creeeepy. Funny, I always thought that wearing glasses just enabled me to see well enough to not run into walls and read and to do other professional stuff.