Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits have become a symbol of power and representative of a powerful woman unabashedly adopting a traditional ‘male’ outfit.
In fact, apart from her performance at the three Presidential debates and her electoral rhetoric, her pantsuits have become all the rage.
But looks like the symbolism behind her pantsuits goes beyond just gender politics.
At the first Presidential debate, Clinton wore a stunning red pantsuit. Blue was her choice for the second one and in the third and final debate, she decided to don white.
Red, blue and white – the colours that come together to make the American flag.
The suits have been designed by Ralph Lauren and Clinton has reportedly also had help from Vogue editor Anna Wintour in making her wardrobe choices.
Clinton’s all-white pantsuit in the last debate seemed to recall an important event in feminist history – the women’s suffrage movement in America.
At the turn of the 20th century, women took to the streets in demonstrations, wearing white as a symbol of protest.
Clinton wore a similar outfit when she accepted her party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention in July.
Some may argue that talking about Clinton’s outfit and not her politics is sexism, but the strategy that she seems to have adopted is interesting.
It’s an established fact that the practice of ‘reductionism-by-fashion’ has for years been directed at women.
Not only has Clinton acknowledged that practice, she’s turned its misogyny on its head. If the media is going to be talking about her outfits anyway, why not milk it for what it’s worth, eh?
(With inputs from The New York Times and Quartz)
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