As for the duds among the Democrats, the women from California know how to set the course when it comes to fashion. Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) with her rock star hair and dandy YSL-inspired pinstriped suits deserves the fashionista award. And Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) manages to make Armani beiges look fresh, and not like she’s wearing a lump of oatmeal. With her yen for band collars and a rainbow of colors, Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), has been making a strong showing in the attire arena since she took office in 2008. All political women should take a nod from Harman, Pelosi and Edwards: Women on the Hill need not dress like a walking American flag to properly represent their states.
With John Warner’s (R-VA) departure from the Senate this year, the Hill took a fashion hit. The always elegantly dressed Warner looked like a moneyed Virginian with a Jermyn Street tailor, sporting what I imagine the grandfather on Dallas 2.0 would wear. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), while certainly appropriately dressed for a politician, is not yet walking in John Warner’s fashion footsteps.
The style standout in the 2009 freshman class is Betsy Markey (D-CO). With a Facebook profile picture that looks like a Ralph Lauren ad, Markey is bringing a hint of the west to Washington.
And in a category not to be ignored, I present Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) with the revamp award. It’s amazing what going legally blonde and finding a good tailor did for the petite woman from Florida.
Adding an album/slide show containing photos of the individuals mentioned in this article would improve this piece. Without them, this article is meaningless to your international and national web community who, at most, only see people on the hill at press events about the stimulus package.