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Pelosi’s attire at retirement speech gives big clues about her future plans: legendary fashion journalist
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Pelosi’s attire at retirement speech gives big clues about her future plans: legendary fashion journalist
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With Nancy Pelosi’s time as leader of congressional Democrats coming to an end, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Robin Givhan examined the Speaker’s “style of power.”
“In her remarks, Pelosi mused about both the majesty and the fragility of democracy, the beauty of the Capitol and all it represented, and a faith that is both sacred and secular,” Givhan wrote. “Her choice of attire is far from the most significant detail on this momentous occasion, but it is remarkable. As speaker, the way Pelosi entered a room, owned a room and even exited one was a complex and precise blend of preparation, confidence and style. Some might call it politic.”
Givhan is currently senior critic-at-large at The Washington Post.
“As the first female speaker, she left an indelible mark on how power is viewed and processed. Pelosi broadened the visual vocabulary of what it means to throw sharp elbows,” Givhan wrote. “Fashion was no longer a third rail in a conversation about her qualifications and accomplishments because her stature could not be denied. It couldn’t be diminished by an admiring acknowledgment of a well-cut suit. Fashion was not some superficial distraction; it was testimony to her attention to detail, to her understanding of symbolism, to her awareness of just how useful aesthetics can be as a form of communication and a source of pleasure.”
When Pelosi regained the speaker’s gavel after the 2018 midterms, Saturday Night Live featured a skit of women in the Democratic Caucus wearing suffragette white. Givhan thought there was important symbolism in how Pelosi dressed for her speech.
