Unit D - Blog 23

The politics behind fashion for women lawyers and politicians all go back to the early part of our society’s structure. Obviously the roles for men and women are far more different then they were in 1776 when our country was established, but the transformation of those gender roles have progressed slowly. Women fashion traditionally has been conservative and “lady-like.” Our society now is a lot more radical, including fashion. As our society has included women more in roles of lawyers and politics, they have also socialized the dress apparel. When you see a woman politician in the paper, or a female lawyer in a movie they are dressed “appropriate.” The socialization of women fashion in these fields is to have bland fashion. A suite and slacks and less make-up appeal. This type of dress style is still the social norm, but I think we are currently witnessing the transformation of it. While researching Sonia Sotomayor, I came across an article in Latina magazine in which Sotomayor was attending a White House event. Obama and the rest of the staff set dress guidelines for her at this event. This included neutral nail polish and size restrained earrings. Sotomayor painted her nails anyway and had her large red hoop earrings on, but the fact that this was something that was attempted to be regulated is ridiculous. First Lady Obama seems to be part of the new wave that is initiating some of this transformation. The dress she wore on election night basically became famous because it was so non-traditional for a first lady. With the dress came much attention to her black culture as well. On NPR they talked about “black style” and if it is consistent with white standards when referring to Obama’s style. They go on to say her dress was “odd” and “fantastic,” and that it’s as odd and as fantastic as it was to see a black family in the white house. There were also implications that she may have more scrutiny of her fashion and style because of her cultural background and Mrs. McCain may have had more room to dress differently because she wouldn’t have been under as big of a micro-scope, and that a much “more traditional person” could get away with dressing different than the norm. The next area that NPR discussed had to do with the sexual aspect of women’s fashion, and Obama in particular. They referred to her as having “sex appeal” with her style and that “she shows off her curves.” With these phrases they are pointing out that these traits are unusual when analyzing the women in politics dress. The other notable thing from that radio show was when they pointed out that First Lady Kennedy was the last politician to dress like this. That shows that 45 years ago was the one example of non-traditional fashion in politics, and it didn’t stick. I am interested to see what type of influence Obama and Sotomayor will have on transforming the socialization of women’s fashion in non-traditional fields.