Hillary Clinton has gotten a lot of compliments and more than one raised eyebrow for the gorgeous gown she wore to the Al Smith dinner in New York last week and this is not the first time fashion has merged with politics in this electoral season. Believe it or not, there has been a lot of controversy and just as many laughs.
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Image via Helen O'Rahilly/Twitter
The Secretary of State surprised everyone wearing a gown.
After years of pantsuits, Hillary Clinton showed up at the Al Smith dinner in a beautiful Ralph Lauren dress. The political commentators admitted that they don't know what shocked them more, that the Democratic nominee showed up in a dress or that she wore the color associated withPlanned Parenthood to a Catholic charity function. Either way, she looked amazing to me.
It had been a while since we last saw her in a dress.
Hillary has gravitated more toward simple designs both as FLOTUS and in life after that. Among her favorite designers are Venezuelan Carolina Herrera and the late Dominican Óscar de la Renta, who is pictured above in November 2013. Also in the picture, Spanish actor Antonio Banderas and Queen Sofía of Spain.
In the last few years, she has made the monochromatic pantsuit a work uniform of sorts.
So lately her fashion has gone unnoticed, but the all-white pantsuit she wore at the last debate served as fuel for a few funny memes on the Internet.
To some people it resembled Luke Skywalker's outfit.
I think it looked good on her and the color is very symbolic. White is used when trying to evoque light and/or purity.
Others thought she resembled Tupac and Snoop Dogg.
The undeniable truth is that she looks like rappers from the famous record label Death Row Records, which brought us Tupac and Snoop Dogg.
But it was probably inspired by Geraldine Ferraro and other feminist icons.
The Democratic candidate used that same white color the night she accepted the Democratic nomination. And the suffragettes also wore white. The 1984 Democratic VP nominee Geraldine Ferraro iconically wore white often and showed up in that color to the convention that year.
Melania Trump was heavily criticized for wearing a dress by a foreign designer.
The wife of the Republican nominee showed up with a dress by London-based Serbian designer Roksanda Ilincic. Melania's home country of Croatia and Ilincic's of Serbia were both part of Yugoslavia. But that was nothing compared to the controversy she caused when it was discovered that part of her speech at the RNC was plagiarized from FLOTUS Michelle Obama.
But that was nothing compared to the controversy caused by this blouse.
The aspiring Republican First Lady showed up to the second debate with this Gucci blouse. It looks good on her but there's one problem, it's called the pussy bow. And she wore it only days after the scandal involving Trump bragging about grabbing women by the p*ssy.
On the other hand, Michelle Obama's blue dress was a total success.
The First Lady did amazing at the DNC, not just because of her phenomenal speech, but also because she looked phenomenal in a dress by Christian Siriano — one of just a few high-end fashion designers who makes plus size clothes.
Ivanka Trump's convention outfit spoke volumes.
Trump's oldest daughter chose a nude dress the night of her speech, in which she defined herself as an independent.
Meanwhile, fashion is so much simpler for men.
But not as fun. Look at Bill Clinton's DNC outfit. He looked sharp, but that was it. The only detail worth noticing is his watch. The country's possible future First Gentleman is sporting a model of his favorite brand American Shinola.
Trump prefers expensive Italian suits, but nobody has said anything about them.
This is surprising to me given that his favorite brand is the very exclusive Brioni, which can set you back between $6,000 to $17,000 or more if the suit is custom made.
Fashion geeks, however, have noticed his ties though.
Not for being foreign made or for their boring designs. The problem is that the Republican candidate tends to wear them too long. According to experts, your tie should never be longer than your belt buckle. Otherwise, it gives men a clownish look… Maybe that's the problem… Not!
The Democratic VP candidate has been crowned as the Internet's dad or stepdad.
Perhaps the image of a caring papi has been, in part, created by his down-to-earth clothing choices.
The truth is that, regardless of the outcome of the election, fashion will always be a big part of politics.
Although if Clinton becomes Madame President, I'm pretty sure we will see an even bigger rainbow of pantsuits.
One thing is for sure, though, we will miss Michelle Obama!
She is considered one of the best dressed first ladies of all times. You just have to look at her in this custom made Donatella Versace gown she wore to her last state dinner as first lady.
I must confess, however, that to me her best accessory is Barack and the adorable way he looks at her.
