Althouse: What Hillary wore.

July 31, 2010

What Hillary wore.

I don't care about the big wedding. I just want an explanation for that crazy thing enveloping Hillary Clinton.

82 comments:

Ron said...: Looks like Hamptons Camo.; 7/31/10, 9:51 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm only 30 minutes away, and I'm not sensing any excitement.

Rhinebeck is an odd choice in some ways.

The last media hype around Rhinebeck was back when Kate Millet and her band of man hating lesbians took up residence. For a while, Rhinebeck was the feminist literary center of the world during the revolution against the evil patriarchy.

That seems to have died down.

Rhinebeck is just across the Hudson from Woodstock. Rhinebeck is more expensive. Old money estates along the river.; 7/31/10, 10:05 AM
Palladian said...: When I read the words "American Royalty" it makes me want to go on a killing spree.; 7/31/10, 10:09 AM
Peano said...: "I just want an explanation for that crazy thing enveloping Hillary Clinton."

That's her husband. Bill. Or were you referring to the Iguana costume she's wearing?; 7/31/10, 10:11 AM
pm317 said...: Ann, I knew I could count on you! Nothing Hillary does will ever please you. Frankly my dear, she does not give a damn what you think.; 7/31/10, 10:12 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Souvenir from India?; 7/31/10, 10:13 AM
Deborah M. said...: Hillary has reached the muumuu years. Ghastly.

@Palladian. Me too.; 7/31/10, 10:13 AM
Anonymous said...: Generous enough to wear a pantsuit underneath.; 7/31/10, 10:14 AM
Anonymous said...: And the answer to that thing Hillary is wearing:

Hiding what's underneath as effectively as possible.

Don't know if she succeeded.; 7/31/10, 10:16 AM
Palladian said...: Hillary's been digging in Michelle Obama's remnant pile.; 7/31/10, 10:17 AM
Anonymous said...: "Frankly my dear, she does not give a damn what you think."

Subtle. Very Subtle.

That's what I thought too - Scarlett O'Hara's curtain dress.

No doubt you mean the one Bob Mackie did for Carol Burnett.; 7/31/10, 10:18 AM
Deborah M. said...: Can I go off topic for a second? Going back to the "bubbler" post - I had never heard that expression in my entire life until that post. Then, this morning my daughter related a conversation during which a friend in Rhode Island used the word, as in "I went to the bubbler." She thought it was a reference to his grandmother. How odd that such a word would come up twice in 24 hours after going over 60 years and never hearing it.

(Thanks for allowing the OT post); 7/31/10, 10:19 AM
DaveW said...: What that looks terrible on her.

Women really have it bad with this stuff though. In the interest of fairness look at how Bill is dressed. He's not even wearing a suit and no tie either. Blue jacket, blue shirt, black belt, gray slacks, and are those brown shoes or oxblood? It's like he just randomly grabbed stuff out of the closet to throw on, doesn't even look like he checked himself in the mirror before he left home.

It's a lot simpler for us, nobody notices as long as we're not in jeans....or shorts.; 7/31/10, 10:24 AM
Deborah M. said...: I don't have anything to say but the WV that popped up was:

muslies.

I couldn't let that one slip by.; 7/31/10, 10:26 AM
Palladian said...: I liked Deborah's off-topic better than Alpha-RSSfeed's.; 7/31/10, 10:31 AM
Phil 314 said...: Has she ever had good fashion sense?

But I have to say it, why do women in the public's eye always have to justify their style choices.

The Brits are able to identify poor fashion sense in their male politicians; why can't we manage that?; 7/31/10, 10:32 AM
Anonymous said...: After Ann Althouse ran three judgement-leaping posts on the allegations against Al Gore, I came by to see if she would write a new story now that the investigation was dropped.

Of course not. Shame on Ann. The practice is deceitful.

OmegaLiberal, you're not only stupid... you're boring.

Every time you post, the IQ level of this site drops by 30 points. We're going to have to apply for aid from No Child Left Behind if you don't stop.

And, you are impossibly, brain numbingly boring. You get worked up about stuff that just doesn't matter.

Can we get back to discussing Hillary's parachute muu-muu?; 7/31/10, 10:35 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I went through the "Mother of the Bride" ordeal a while back. The wedding was formal and we two mothers had to coordinate what to wear colorwise and length. Long and formal.

I have nothing like that in my wardrobe so I went on line and looked for Mother of the Bride dresses. GACK!!! I never saw so much lace, pearls and satin outside a coffin or on some corseted victorian lady.

So considering what was out there....Hillary's caftan/ mumu outfit isn't that bad. I wonder what the mother of the groom wore.; 7/31/10, 10:37 AM
traditionalguy said...: Joan Rivers would say that Hillary is dressed to be the First Lady Of Russia.; 7/31/10, 10:37 AM
Anonymous said...: In fairness to Hillary, how many women are there who would look good dressed in a Motel 6 bedspread?; 7/31/10, 10:38 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: See.....It could have been worse.

Hillary could have gone disquised as a lampshade; 7/31/10, 10:39 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Yea, I saw that too, and thought, "What the hell,...?" when it's not really like me to notice such things. But then, I don't really get this whole deal:

Two supposed life-long public servants can put on a lavish wedding ($2-5 million estimates) at public expense (no-fly zone, etc.) the home of George Soros' daughter and there's no hard questioning, or rioting or complaints or anything.

My nightmares aren't just occurring when I'm sleeping anymore, are they?; 7/31/10, 10:39 AM
Anonymous said...: Maxi dress with a pantsuit underneath?

Bill is looking shockingly old these days. Chelsea asked him to lose 15 pounds for the wedding, which didn't help.; 7/31/10, 10:40 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "After Ann Althouse ran three judgement-leaping posts on the allegations against Al Gore, I came by to see if she would write a new story now that the investigation was dropped. Of course not. Shame on Ann. The practice is deceitful."

Ew. Blech. I've been traveling, not reading the news and posting on everything. Now, when I do catch up, if I encounter that story and blog it, Alpha will think I'm reacting to his criticism. Quelle dilemma!; 7/31/10, 10:40 AM
Anonymous said...: When my wife was still on this earth, we had a 19 year old black girl playing lead guitar in our blues band.

The girl was good looking and well built. Who isn't at 19? But she knew from looking at her mother that by the time she was 40 she would probably weigh 300 pounds.

The girl was trying to get the most out of her lean years, wearing frilly undies and the smallest thongs on the market.

She would often talk with dread about the future, when she knew she'd be wearing "parachute panties."; 7/31/10, 10:42 AM
Ann Althouse said...: One thing about that dress is that your partner could get under it, undress, and have sex with you, in public, and no one would be able to see. It's a sexy dress, if you think about it that way.; 7/31/10, 10:42 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Chelsea asked him to lose 15 pounds for the wedding, which didn't help.

Seriously???? She asked that?

If I had been told anything along those lines (not that I couldn't benefit by losing 15 pounds) I would have declined to go to the wedding. Pound sand kiddo. I'm your mother and if you don't like the way I look, you can get adopted.; 7/31/10, 10:44 AM
Unknown said...: It looks like the batsuit Wile E. Coyote wore to glide off a cliff.

Willie, of course, looks like Hell.

And I love the line, "America prepares to celebrate...". Who do they think we are, pre-Revolutionary France?

shoutingthomas said...

I'm only 30 minutes away, and I'm not sensing any excitement.

Rhinebeck is an odd choice in some ways.

The Clintons have always gone where the money was.

Palladian said...

When I read the words "American Royalty" it makes me want to go on a killing spree.

They're royalty only if you're trailer trash. The same with the Kennedys. They were royalty only if you were shanty Irish.; 7/31/10, 10:45 AM
Anonymous said...: One thing about that dress is that your partner could get under it, undress, and have sex with you, in public, and no one would be able to see. It's a sexy dress, if you think about it that way.

The "your partner" bit is just the right way to put it for Hillary.

Who do you think is her partner?

It certainly can't be Bill. He's checking out the thong on his current intern.; 7/31/10, 10:46 AM
Anonymous said...: "My nightmares aren't just occurring when I'm sleeping anymore, are they?"

You're not alone, not by a long shot...; 7/31/10, 10:49 AM
michaele said...: Seems like Hillery grew her hair longer for this special weekend ( at Chelsea's request, I read). I'm curious to see how quickly she gets a shorter cut. She's been looking pretty bedraggled at press and picture events. It's just long enough to make her look tired and older if it isn't freshly coiffed.; 7/31/10, 10:56 AM
kermitt said...: Much as I dislike her politics;Hillary is a remarkably good looking woman,adjusted for her age.; 7/31/10, 11:03 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Seems like Hillery grew her hair longer for this special weekend ( at Chelsea's request,

WTF?!?

Chelsea tells her Dad to lose weight, tells her mother to wear her hair longer so that Bill looks sick and Hillary looks haggard. Did she pick out their underwear, too? If she demanded that they get nipple piercings for the wedding, do you think that Bill and Hill would have done it?

What a demanding self centered prima donna bitch little Chelsea seems to have turned out to be.; 7/31/10, 11:03 AM
MT Mellon said...: Y'all just hush now hear?
I seen worse drapes on ladies in photos around these parts.; 7/31/10, 11:19 AM
Hagar said...: In India she would be arrested, or worse, for indecent exposure. She must have been to Hawaii at some point.; 7/31/10, 11:23 AM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/31/10, 11:24 AM
Ralph L said...: It's a sexy dress, if you think about it that way.
I was about to say I kinda liked it on her, until you said that and made me shudder.

It's the color of money.; 7/31/10, 11:25 AM
DADvocate said...: It looks like drapes from the breakfast nook.; 7/31/10, 11:31 AM
DADvocate said...: The first comment from the article at the Daily Mail: "They've got all that money & she wears a curtain from the 60s?"

Priceless.; 7/31/10, 11:38 AM
Trooper York said...: Hillary has perfect storm of a fashion Katrina in a mash-up of two on trend styles for this season: the maxi dress and the batwing sleeve.

Maxi-dresses are very popular although they look best when they are slightly above the ankle. Our Lola Maxi dress was picked by Mindy Cohn yesterday when the filmed the premiere episode of next seasons "What Not to Wear." It has a busy pattern which helps move the eye away from areas that you might not want people to look at.

This Summer Tube Dress from French designer Lauren Vidal has a more conservative maxi look but it is too high for someone who has to deal with the cankle as Hillary unfortunately has to conceal so the hemline should just about bisect he ankle at the midpoint. But it is a moderate and stylish alternative.

The Batwing arms were a big fashion forward trend this past season. It is basically where the sleeves are attached to the dress. We experimented with this look when we were manufacturing our fall line but there is a basic problem. On a short dress the batwing effect is such that when you raise your arms the dress raises up to the point that you expose your Chuckie. Not so good. And when you do it in a maxi you sort of look like Gandalf which is basically the look that Hillary has achieved here.

I would be happy to help our Hillary in her next big event in the spirit of non-partisan amity. So give me a call Hill

All the best,
Your Pal
Trooper; 7/31/10, 11:39 AM
Wince said...: Funny, when I saw Hillary in this pant suit today it made me think that is what she'd wear if she appeared as guest villian on Batman.; 7/31/10, 11:46 AM
Trooper York said...: Hillary is in fact a plus sized woman as she would be a 16 to 18 in a missy fit or a 14 in a womens cut.

Now that is not what bigoted people like the blogger lady think of as plus sized because they are thinking of people in the 22-36 size range. But it is always fun to ridicule plus sized women here.

There are basically two types of fit. The “Missy” fit and the “Woman’s” fit. Most stylists only deal with the missy fit and have no experience with a woman’s fit. You can be a size 18 missy but a size 12 woman’s. They often don’t have a clue. It is sort of like having a Democrat talking about small business. It is outside their realm of experience.

The very talented and profesional stylists that we deal with from “What Not to Wear” and “Saturday Night Live” has little or no experience dealing with any sizes bigger than a 10. So they don’t know how to fit a body like Hillary so she can take advantage of her best qualities while minimizing those things that we don’t want to emphasize.

Whoever picked this dress made the common mistake of trying to conceal with too much fabric when the proper women’s cut would have been totally appropriate and very flattering.; 7/31/10, 11:51 AM
raf said...: There was a sale on polyester tarpaulins?; 7/31/10, 12:01 PM
William said...: Hillary, in her fashion forward way, is trying to integrate the best points of the burqua into western clothing. The outfit really shows her figure to its best advantage.; 7/31/10, 12:12 PM
virgil xenophon said...: Yes, raf, over at NYC "Tent & Awnings," Inc.; 7/31/10, 12:14 PM
Joan said...: I love it when Trooper York posts on women's fashions -- it's so great to hear from someone who really knows what he's talking about. Thanks, Troop!

I agree that there is simply too much dress there -- but in spite of that, I think Hilary looks fantastic. She looks excited and happy, just as a mother of the bride should. And Bill looks pretty good, too, much less dissipated than he normally does.

DBQ, I don't believe that Chelsea is dictating her parents' weight and hairstyles -- sounds to me like something a bitchy celebrity gossip columnist wrote. But who knows? I've never met these people and never will, and don't care one way or the other.

The breathless tone of that article cracked me up. Don't they have anything else to write about? Just think of the excitement years from now when/if the Obama girls decide to get married! Can't wait.; 7/31/10, 12:19 PM
Unknown said...: she looks lovely ! that is a beautiful fabric, and that color is perfect on her.; 7/31/10, 12:21 PM
Anonymous said...: I have some very unpleasant recent memories of Rhinebeck. To hell with the whole town.

Peter; 7/31/10, 12:38 PM
Anonymous said...: I have some very unpleasant recent memories of Rhinebeck. To hell with the whole town.

Peter; 7/31/10, 12:38 PM
Anonymous said...: In advance of the big day, Chelsea has told her father to lose more than a stone so that he 'looks good'.
Speaking at a summit in Washington Bill Clinton recently said: 'She told me the other day, she said, 'Dad the only thing you gotta do is walk me down the aisle and you need to look good.'

'So I said 'Well, what's your definition?'

'And she said: 'Oh, about 15 pounds.' So I'm halfway home.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1295845/Hillary-Clinton-admits-Bill-emotional-Chelseas-wedding.html#ixzz0vHaIlSAP; 7/31/10, 12:40 PM
howzerdo said...: When I first saw the photo in the newspaper, I did a double take and thought "how ugly." That's kind of surprising from me, because I am not at all into fashion and rarely judge people's clothing.

I also knew Prof A would post something about it!

But after looking at it for a while, I agree with Joan, Hillary looks better than usual, happier for one thing.

I just got off the phone with my mother - she is across the river and through the woods from Rhinebeck, and she is fond of Dutchess County. My mother took me and my grandmother many times to the FDR, Vanderbilt or Mills estates, and I have spent many hours with my mother and sister at events in that area such as the sheep and wool festival. (My grandmother was a great admirer of FDR, and although she was agorophobic, it was an outing she always enjoyed).

Anyway, I wouldn't say the Clinton nuptuals were the first thing on her mind, but she is excited about it - and she is not at all a person who gets jazzed up over weddings. She thinks it is good for Rhinebeck and she loved this picture.; 7/31/10, 12:43 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Palladian, I'd like to see the headline after your killing spree........18 Dead After Artist Goes Rambo At Thought That Trailer Trash Clintons Are Royalty!; 7/31/10, 12:47 PM
Anonymous said...: Based on how he looks in the picture, Bill Clinton would be a good pick in one of those next-celebrity-to-die betting pools.

Peter; 7/31/10, 12:48 PM
Chennaul said...: I think that "tent" is about-keeping out the riff-raff-like that guy next to her.; 7/31/10, 1:18 PM
Chennaul said...: Well no matter-the stylist couldn't take away her smile-and that makes her gorgeous. Money can't buy that.; 7/31/10, 1:24 PM
MamaM said...: I was started to see how old and frail Bill looked. He reminds me of an old cat...a thin, baggy old lion.; 7/31/10, 1:34 PM
jungatheart said...: I think she looks fine. The dress is for the rehearsal dinner, anyway.

Glad to hear she may be cutting her hair soon.; 7/31/10, 1:47 PM
The Dude said...: To quote Homer Simpson "Give me the muumuu, I don't want to look like a freak."

WV: trandfal - trend fail in Swedish.; 7/31/10, 1:49 PM
Ralph L said...: Kirstin, if Bill said it, it must be true.; 7/31/10, 2:08 PM
Fred Drinkwater said...: It's a burqa, restyled by hubby Bill. Best of both world, don't you know?

WV: "buterons": girls pants that need to be greased before wearing. Only available in Sizes 2 and 0, thank god.; 7/31/10, 2:15 PM
Anonymous said...: "Frankly my dear, she does not give a damn what you think."

Hillary is wearing a drapery from a 1970's porn set to her own daughter's wedding. She obviously doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks.

This photograph is proof that you can take a hillbilly out of the Ozarks but you can't take the Ozark out of a hillbilly.; 7/31/10, 2:17 PM
A.W. said...: If you think that is bad, you should see what the bridesmaids had to wear.

Btw, this post is screaming for a picture.; 7/31/10, 2:20 PM
Anonymous said...: Ralph L, I was just providing a source. The story apparently came directly from Bill Clinton and was not fabricated by a gossip columnist. Whether he was telling the truth is another question.; 7/31/10, 2:23 PM
Patrick said...: Seems this would be the ultimate wedding crashing experience.; 7/31/10, 2:36 PM
Patrick said...: "It's a sexy dress if you think about it that way."

I do not think that word means what you think it means...; 7/31/10, 2:42 PM
DADvocate said...: Well no matter-the stylist couldn't take away her smile-and that makes her gorgeous.

Hillary's smiles range from creepy, as in EDH's link to the pant suit, to psychotic, as in the picture of her on the left below the main picture in the Daily Mail article. This woman has a screw loose somewhere.; 7/31/10, 3:06 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/31/10, 3:40 PM
Trooper York said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/31/10, 3:41 PM
Trooper York said...: The issue for Hillary as for most women is how to define your waist. You always look much better if you define at the waist at its narrowest point. Now this is often not your “natural waist.” It could be your “Empire waist.” General it is best if you just emphasize the narrowest point with a belt or a narrowing of the garment to introduce an “hour glasses effect.”

If I was dressing Hillary, I would help get to a “Joan Holloway” hour glass style that might even catch Bubba’s wandering eye. Trust me it’s there to be found in every woman. If she just lets someone competent dress her.

(posted three times in a row because I couldn't get the links to work); 7/31/10, 3:45 PM
Mary Beth said...: It looks as though the fabric of her dress has a lot of movement. I would expect it to look better in real life than it does in a still photograph.; 7/31/10, 4:11 PM
jungatheart said...: "The issue for Hillary as for most women is how to define your waist. You always look much better if you define at the waist at its narrowest point."

That's one reason I think the green dress works...it creates a waist/hour-glass shape.; 7/31/10, 4:13 PM
Trooper York said...: It needed to be belted at the Empire waist for it to really work on Hillary's shape. Trust me, it would look a million times better on her. Just sayn'; 7/31/10, 4:15 PM
jungatheart said...: @ Trooper: Well, it's kind of empire because it starts below the bust. I think full empire would have looked matronly/what is she trying to hide. The extended cinching lengthens, I think.; 7/31/10, 4:55 PM
Trooper York said...: Not where she carries her weight. I think the empire would look great but I would not a-line out from the empire waist but rather skim the body in a much more fitted manner to emphasize her curves.; 7/31/10, 5:07 PM
jungatheart said...: Simply to be argumentative, I'll note that the extended cinching accomplishes some skimming, but I take your point.

(I couldn't get your link to work.)

@Mary Beth: Yes, I'll bet it had great movement.; 7/31/10, 5:49 PM
dick said...: Love the first comment from Kate from Cardiff.; 7/31/10, 6:34 PM
Paul Kirchner said...: In one of the pictures at the source article, Hillary has her "I'm so excited I look like I stuck my finger in a light socket" expression I haven't seen since her presidential campaign.

I agree with everyone else that Bill looks worse for having lost weight--it makes him look haggard and saggy. I also agree with DBQ that Chelsea's a real shit for ordering her father to lose weight before her wedding. (Clinton mentioned that in his Yale Class Day speech.); 7/31/10, 9:29 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Bill probably wanted to lose the weight and liked having the incentive given to him. I doubt if Chelsea was a jerk about it. Give the girl a break.; 7/31/10, 9:32 PM
Ralph L said...: All brides (under 50) are jerks. Older ones have less estrogen.; 7/31/10, 10:26 PM
Paul Kirchner said...: Ann, you may be right that it was good natured, but here's the way I heard it put:

When Bob Schieffer asked Bill Clinton if he was ready for his daughter's wedding, Clinton replied:

"She doesn't think I'm in shape. You know she told me the other day she said, 'Dad the only thing you gotta do is walk me down the aisle and you gotta look good.' So I said, 'Well, what's your definition?' And she said, 'Oh, about 15 pounds.' So I'm about halfway home."

It rubbed me the wrong way. YMMV.; 7/31/10, 10:43 PM
MathMom said...: William @ 7/31/10 12:12 PM

Re the burqa comment - we actually wore batik dresses cut like this in Saudi Arabia to keep from having to wear the burqa (there it's called an abaya, add a bushiya if the face must be covered). The idea is to look like a CMO (colorful moving object) and not a BMO (black moving object). We also used them to cover up swimming suits when leaving the pool area.

IMHO, Hillary is rolling in money. She could afford to find someone in the world who could design a dress for her that would not make her look like a cow. Even that dress would have looked better if they would have left off the "bat wing" and made the sleeves sheer and long enough to cover her middle-aged fleshy arms.

When Hillary wears jewel tones in slubbed silk on top, in a Petite length, with black on the bottom to disguise her personal floatation equipment butt, she looks really nice. She could have done something like that with a long black skirt with a lot of movement that would have really worked better.

She does look happy, though.; 7/31/10, 11:09 PM
jamboree said...: She took Barbra Streisand's advice?

Weird what a control freak she seemed to be about other people's images considering her eye makeup. I'm not a Chelsea-hater, I don't generally rip on her about her looks, but - her hair should have been down and the eye makeup should have been toned down.

She clearly went on one of those wedding day starvation diets so popular in my own family. We all go down to under 110 for about an hour to get married - usually by getting sick. In hindsight, it looks terrible. Eat something and look good and healthy at 115 or 120.

Oh well. At least it's over - the Gore girls are already getting their first divorces are they not?

PS: I can't believe some of the things East Coasters apparently think are appropriate wedding gear.; 8/1/10, 2:49 AM