March 11, 2019
She’s running for office… Not a big office, nothing that will require travel beyond an hour’s drive from her home in order to campaign. But she’s serious about it! This is what she’s using to help her focus her campaign wardrobe…
She enrolled in a 3-day workshop for women running for office… And she’s going to use this trip as her dress-rehearsal for some of her campaign outfits!
tunic – Eileen Fisher; earrings – Matta; scarf – Elizabeth Gillett; teddy bear coat – Kensie; watch – Tissot; pants – Eileen Fisher; loafers – Hispanitas; tote – Johnny Was
She’s taken a close look at other women who are running for office, and she’s noticed that some of them wear a very neutral “core” outfit (often black tops and pants) with accent jackets… She’s going to emulate this idea, using dark grey as her neutral, and 4 accent colors taken from her favorite painting.
cardigan – Halogen; earrings – Kendra Scott; scarf – Nordstrom; tee – Eileen Fisher; bag – Mackage; jeans – Lands’ End; socks – Ann Taylor; loafers – Børn
Since she will be driving to many of her events, and won’t have to spend very many nights away from home, she’s including quite a few handbags… Maybe they’re excessive, but she likes them, and that’s worth a lot!
dress – Banana Republic; earrings – Flor Principe; cardigan – J.Crew; scarf – Tory Burch; pumps – Calvin Klein; bag – Michael Kors
Yes, people will see her in the same clothes quite a bit, but that’s actually something that she wants…
cardigan – Lands’ End; earrings – Khun Boom; turtleneck – Isabel Marant; scarf – Longchamp; skirt – Isabel Marant; boots – Blondo
Since the environment is a part of her platform, she doesn’t want to wear an endless range of clothes – that would be wasteful, an expense she can’t really absorb, and a distraction that she doesn’t want to think about…
This is what she’s taking to the seminar, and what will be the core of her public-facing wardrobe. Yes, she needs jeans, because she will be visiting rural areas where being too dressy could be just plain wrong!
The nice thing about this wardrobe is that she can wear any of her “core” grey outfits with any of the 4 accent colors!
Do you notice what politicians and candidates wear? I do occasionally, and then I remind myself that their clothing is NOT what should be important to me!
love,
Janice
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This seems a very clever wardrobe for this kind of role. Everyone’s eyes will be on the colour and they won’t really notice the base. And the accents are quite different from each other. Nice!! I would struggle to be so disciplined but I can appreciate the result here.
I agree with Jazz that what people will remember are the colorful jackets/sweaters. Gray is a wonderful choice–not as harsh or somber as black, also more forgiving of dirt, which is the bane of someone dashing about. The only thing is that I find it hard to match grays–some are warm, some are cool and some look weird next to each other.
I was just reading about someone renting work clothes. You get 4 items a month, which sounds a bit limited, especially for the price. But evidently the items get worn about 20 times over their lifecycles, which is more than the average of TWO for purchased clothes. I certainly wear things more than 20 times….
Can you give us the link, so we can read the article about the work clothes? Thank you.
I know of a woman working in the banking industry who uses Rent the Runway for her work wardrobe, including jewelry! – nancyo
I love this. This is the best post so far. What color is the Land’s End cardigan? Is it royal blue or purple? Hard to tell.
It’s purple! I always wonder what colors look like on other peoples’ monitors…
hugs,
Janice
I really love this combination – and I do think the grey is a wise choice – makes her more approachable than black would and I really like all the colours chosen as accents. Could we expand on this one a bit please?
I admire this woman’s courage – the life of a politician is definitely not for me! And her wardrobe choices work so well – she obviously knows how to plan and make smart decisions and should excel in public office (where alarmingly few seem to have these abilities – oops, sorry that comment was so snarky!).
It’s funny, but I almost never pay attention to what politicians are wearing unless they sport very bold colors and/or interesting and unique patterns, because I love color and pattern. Very few female public figures’ outfits interest me for this reason, since they usually avoid these choices, but I do tend to notice the men’s ties, almost to the point of obsession! Maybe if the women wore scarves on a regular basis I would notice their neckwear just as often. Another plus for the woman in this post – she has lots of colorful scarves!
I love this idea though if it were me, I would choose more structured blazers as my top layer. I feel that they command a certain level of respect and self confidence that could be important assets to a political candidate. The scarves offer the softness to break the potential severity of the blazers.
Love the grey generally, and that draped skirt particularly… not something you’d see a lot of on the campaign trail. I notice politicians’ clothes when they are very bad and when the candidate doesn’t look comfortable. (In primary races down here, you sometimes see townie candidates roll out to the country to gladhand the peanut farmers in flannels and jeans fresh out of the package.)
This is a wonderful wArdrobe and I love the grey and agree it’s not as harsh as black. The lovely colors soften it more. Two days ago we went inti downtown DC to an intimate event (150 people) to hear Marianne Williamson speak. She is running for President. She wore a navy blazer and matching pants with a crisp white shirt and simple gold jewelry barely noticeable. It was perfect for her as she is quite short – about my height, 5’2” A long navy column made her seem taller. Perhaps colorful clothing on such a petite person would have distracted from her vibrant personality and passionate speaking. Different styles and colors are suitable for different women it seems. I’ve come to wear whatever makes me feel good and that’s simple solid colors and slim no-frill silhouettes.
Janice Collins Coyle,Washington DC
There are so many things I love about the Vivienne Files, but today I just want to say how much I love your creative visualizations of the lives of women. You show us style as an integral part of an interesting and meaningful life. You are a star!
I have noticed for a long time that Elizabeth Warren seems to usually wear a black scoop top, black pants, and then a coloful blazer. The color keeps her feminine, but the black base removes distractions (from her bust etc.) I have seen others copying this more recently.
I think in politics and the workplace is it a tough balance to avoid looking butch or matronly, but at the same time look serious enough and not too sexy.
Personally I like cardigans better than blazers because I’m tall with broad shoulders and hips–The blazers tend to look too boxy, and the fluidity of the cardigans is softer and shows my waist. Love this post, thanks.
She was my inspiration for this post! I actually considered using a black core, but I thought charcoal was a bit more interesting…
hugs,
Janice
Such an interesting article and I think a very appealing and practical wardrobe for this politician. I have noticed that politicians, both men and women, tend to emphasize red, white and blue for the obvious association. This is more subtle. I am guessing our views would align and I would vote for her! I also just want to give a shout out to the Helen Frankenthaler painting. I love it and love the color palette. I so appreicate that you give us an art history exposure with each post. I love this page. You have my vote!
You said it for me as well, Penelope. Thank you, and thank you Janice!
I love the charcoal base for this wardrobe. I could easily use this Frankenthaler painting for a capsule, but mine would have completely different accent colors (white, dark red, petrol blue, and plum, although I own a fair amount of purple too)! – nancyo
I really wish you would do more posts that don’t include grey or black as neutrals, not all of us look good in those colors. I’d like to see more navy, beige/khaki and true blue, again, combined with something other than grey.
Have you searched the archives? I actually find that Janice tries NOT to use black, to show us what options are. I love black and it complements me – I find the archives and search functions are very helpful – you can even search an artist’s name!
I also like “true blue” and am very interested in seeing more of that!
For beige and khaki also look up tan, sand, and camel colors.
I’m with Joanne. I have followed The Vivienne Files for years, and use the archives extensively. I agree that Janice does produce some palettes in alternative colours; but I too feel that there is a majority of cool colours, especially black/grey. I long for strong =, warm autumn colours. And of course I know it isn’t helped by the dearth ofsuch warm colours in the shops. Yes, I can adapt the ideas to suit me; but it is nice to see role models in ones own colours.
I would love to do more work with warm colors, but it is tough to find garments in the right colors. I will try to be more mindful of including some “warm” colors when I’m working; thanks for sharing your thoughts.
lots of hugs,
Janice
Grays come in so many shades, it can be tricky to find the right one, but sooner or later, there is a gray for everyone ? .
Since my hair is silvering and soon it will be my primary neutral, I really appreciate that Janet makes an effort to incorporate gray into her heroines clothing. Kudos to her for trying to give inspiration to such a diverse audience!
With the change in hair color also comes a change in skin tones too. However, women’s clothing departments generally don’t reflect that. Younger, slimmer women with cool coloring are the primary target audience as are women who color their hair. That leaves not very much for the rest of us. I’ve found it interesting that men’s clothing departments tend to have more muted colors than women’s, probably because most men don’t color their hair or wear makeup ?.
Eh, darn autocorrect! I typed Janice, but it changed it to Janet
Just love this—and the idea of a woman running for office in a peach teddy-bear coat! Oooh and Janice, genuine pearl earrings, you thrill me! There’s a personality here.
Since our candidate is an environmentalist she will not rent her clothes; Rent the Runway and similar are not exemplars because of their dry cleaning (both volume and type of cleaning) and the amount of shipping they do (though RTR have opened a few depots in large cities where subscribers can pick up and return). Besides, if I had this wardrobe I would never want to send it back!
Everything is very open with a really clear explanation of the issues.
It was truly informative. Your site is useful.
Thank you for sharing!
Love this color palette and wardrobe so much! The colors are so lovely together. I can’t wear those purple shades yet, but I have hope that when I have more silver in my hair that will change.
Janice, thank you for creating so much inspiration for such a diverse audience. I enjoy all of your heroines and I think that we all are especially delighted when we can find ourselves in them ?.