The ladies' paradise

The Republicans: Sarah Palin, Cindy McCain, Michelle Obama

A political trophy wife and a regular trophy wife?

Yes, Sarah Palin is a real live governor, but the scene on the podium today read as McCain with two younger women on his arm. At a minimum, it changes the entire set of assumptions we bring to the table about presidents, vice-presidents, and First Ladies.

I don't have a whole lot to say about Sarah Palin, except she's really beautiful. (But could we work on getting her a new pair of glasses, please?) Her outfit was a straight-up power suit, perfect for Washington, and that was no doubt the intent. She wore what looked like boring and dinky earrings with a similarly boring chain necklace; her real accessory was the pair of pins, one a flag, attached to her shoulder.

By contrast, the real trophy wife's outfit was a boring version of a Michelle Obama dress -- a turquoise sheath. Oh, but wait, she also sported a strand of big, fat pearls -- maybe to help us remember which was the trophy wife and which was the veep candidate.

The whole thing was interesting on a lot of levels. Could you find anything better to distinguish the Republicans from the Dems than to have a bunch of cheerleaders, for God's sake, warming up the crowd? I also thought the line-up of children, one of them holding Palin's baby, made her look like the mother-candidate. (And, sure enough, a big applause line was McCain's saying she was a "wife and a mother of five children.")

Democratic convention clothes: The Obamas

I just loved how the family -- actually, the Obamas with the Bidens -- looked last night. Jill Biden looked great (though not as much in this picture. The Obama family looked coordinated but not contrived. And as any five-year-old can tell you, pink is just light red, so they were all wearing a variation of red, although on my TV the colors were more in the burgundy/fuschia range and less full-on true red.

What I love about that, as I loved Michelle's choice of the purple sheath on a crucial election night during the primaries, was that the purple/burgundy/fuschia colors are all a combination of red and blue. Get it? Red states and blue states? To me it's brilliant. And it looks as though Michelle's dress here is both blue and red. (And she's broken with tradition in breaking out the prints for these big occasions, last night and last Saturday afternoon when the veep announcement was made.) I think the dress had a bow in the back, which didn't seem quite right to me. All in all, my favorite of her convention outfits was the turquoise sleeveless sheath.

I've seen some criticism of Michelle's flats but I think it's just the way it is when you're 5'11".

Last thing: With the exception of Jill's jacket here, the spectrum of reds was reserved for the Obamas. I don't think I saw any of the major speakers wearing red ties -- they were all blue. And it looks as if Biden will need to stock up on blue ties.

McCain has just announced the choice of Sarah Palin for his veep. So now the Republicans will be lots more fun to watch next week: We'll be covering both Mrs. McCain (fun in itself) and Sarah Palin.

Democratic convention clothes: Hillary's jewelry

I was curious about the necklace Hillary wore for her big speech. Here's what I learned from Cliff Notes, a fashion blog: "Her necklace was by Marco Bicego. It's a three-strand Paradise necklace handcrafted in 18 carat yellow gold, with a range of colorful semi-precious stones, including citrine, amethyst and blue topaz."

What do you make of the fact that there's been very little jewelry on display among women on the podium over the past few days? There have been notable exceptions: Pelosi's signature pearls finally back in place with that gorgeous, flattering neckline (you couldn't see her pants last night -- I don't like them, and the jacket/pants combo is just not formal and pulled-together for this event); Albright's signature pins; and Michelle O's big pin during her speech. But there are not a lot of earrings, bracelets, rings, and some speakers, as I've already said, have worn nothing.

I imagine it's an effort to connect to working-class roots among those who have them, or at least not to put too much wealth on display when speeches are full of references to people who can't afford health insurance or are losing their homes. And that may be necessary, but it's also a wee bit disingenuous. One blog comment even says that Michelle O "drips with diamonds" when she's not on the campaign trail, and that just irritates me -- not that she has them, but that she doesn't wear them. Because then she becomes less than completely genuine and authentic.

And no, I'm not naive enough to expect my government to be genuine and authentic -- I should use quotation marks to suggest that such a thing is illusory anyway -- but something about it is so contrived that it seems an insult to viewers and voters, as if people will actually believe that she doesn't wear diamonds. To me, Pelosi's necklace (which I actually don't love -- Nancy, could you not decide between the white and the black pearls? -- strikes the right note: an expensive standout piece she wears often enough that you realize that, yes, somewhere there's enough money for something like this, but she loves it and values it and doesn't have a dozen other equally pricey pieces in the vault back home. That's more down to earth than the idea of a well-to-do woman wearing no jewelry at all.

I can't wait to see how the Republicans accessorize next week!

Democratic convention clothes: Michelle on Wednesday

This isn't a great picture, but you can see the jeweled neckline of this dress, which I think is fantastic on Michelle Obama (better, really, than the one she wore to give her speech). The jeweled neckline is great in general and especially for Michelle and Caroline Kennedy, because it adds interest and glamour to their outfits without the problems that wearing lots of actual jewelry would bring.

Last night was all about blue. Hillary Clinton also wore a light blue and looked excellent (disgregard the goofy expression in this photo) while in the spotlight during the roll call and the speeches later on.

Biden's tie was blue (and, again, with Obama's red tie and their white shirts, they presented a nice picture of red, white and blue.) I think Jill Biden also wore a blue sleeveless shift and looked great. Set against the podium's blue backdrop, the setting was visually compelling.

Oh, and can I just say: I thought Madeleine Albright looked great. No, she doesn't look like she's 30, but she isn't so why should she? That's how an older, powerful woman should look. I love seeing that, because we don't have nearly enough image of what 70 (or thereabouts), accomplished, and powerful looks like.

Democratic convention clothes: More on Michelle

I love this picture. Somehow both Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama are wearing light, late-summer neutrals. Did they call each other up this morning? Were they told what to wear by stylists? I imagine it may just have been serendipity.

But look at this picture carefully. First, they're in some kind of in-between place, a back hallway in a hotel that this week probably offers few opportunities for private discussion. There's such a contrast between the utilitarian hallway (fluorescent lights, hardwearing linoleum floor, wall lined with what look like fridges) and their conversation, which is high-stakes political, no matter how light and impromptu it seems.

Obama's on her way to a party. They're both wearing light colors, which always signify summertime leisure, or at a minimum are far from the power-suit dressing we've seen, and even the toned down power dresses that have been on the podium. Most striking is the difference between the two women. Obama is nearly a head taller than Clinton, for starters. And Clinton's clothes are a summertime version of her serviceable black pantsuit -- the shell, the buttoned jacket, the matching pumps. Contrast that old-school power look with Obama's ensemble. It's all about being flirty -- the full skirt, the flats, the flower at her waist, the big necklaces. She looks wonderful (okay, maybe a tad overdone with the accessories). But look at her amid the sea of black suits -- she sure does stand out.

Democratic convention clothes II: Hillary

Hillary was on fire last night. Her speech was pitch perfect, I thought -- and how about this suit?!

Apparently her fashion peeps tried several different suits against the podium and backdrop and decided on this bright orange. (This picture's from Cliff Notes.) It's a powerful color, for sure, and to wear it head to toe was a sure sign of confidence. It's a perfect complement to the blue behind her -- the two colors just look so harmonious and beautiful together. And look at how the warmth of the orange makes her glow, whereas some of the colors she wore earlier in the year (the horrible yellow, for instance) made her look sick, sallow, tired, and old.

The suit is simply cut, with what looked like a slight bell at the cuff, a nice touch, and a matching shell. She was wearing a delicate triple-strand gold chain. The effect was: "Look at me" but not in a cliche'd Washington power-suit way.

I thought Michelle O looked great up in the stands near Bill, but I can't find a picture. (I'll post it I can track one down.) The dress had a deep sweetheart neckline and it looked as if her hair was pinned up -- a look that was very different from Monday night's.

Democratic convention: The clothes

Okay, you could argue I'm getting a little off-message here, but I have to talk about the clothes last night! (This picture is from The Black Snob, which also has a great retrospective of Michelle O's clothes.)

Michelle O looked great last night. (Is that pin a little tiny bit off-center, though, I wonder?) And her speechifying skills are masterful.

I loved her Saturday afternoon flowered full-skirt dress -- for the veep announcement. (Couldn't find a fabulous picture.) She dresses like a normal person -- like you'd wear if you wanted to look great at an outdoor weekend event -- flats, patterned dress. But she took it a step further in those silvery flats and belted dress (less casual than, say a sundress, which would of course wouldn't have worked).

What jumped out at me last night were all the secondary colors. No red or bright blue in the featured speakers. (Someone pointed out to me that Obama's red tie, Biden's blue, and their white shirts added up to red, white and blue on Saturday.) Not even yellow, except for Jim Lehrer's blue-and-yellow stripe tie. Craig Robinson sported a bright orange tie. And Michelle O's dress was in some other color (aqua?) than power-blue.

I also thought it was interesting the speakers wore almost no jewelry. Nancy Pelosi (who seemed nervous and who must have spilled on her first-pick outfit, because what she wore was so dreadful) lacked her signature pearls, confident attitude and straight-up business suit. Caroline Kennedy and Obama only wore "jewels" that were part of their dresses themselves, or so it seemed.

Stay tuned.

Warming trend: A great cashmere wrap

Floral Lace Swing Wrap ($255)
This is so special and so versatile -- I'd wear it just as the picture shows, or with black slacks or color or anything. It's so beautiful (and in cashmere, more than just a pretty scarf).

Floral lace wrap ($255)

Scarf: Tie one on

I will definitely be getting this! As the website says, this scarf will elevate a whole, otherwise ho-hum look.

Sunshine & Shadow scarf ($118)

Cute as a Sweet Pea

Is it possible to have too may Sweet Pea tops? Not for me! Here's one I just noticed and love love love. It's a little more interesting and dressy than the designer's usual stuff but still would, of course, look great with jeans. It's definitely on my short list.

Sweet Pea by Stacy Frati Ruffle Mesh Top ($68)