Most of the time I adore fashion guru Tim Gunn's style advice. I mean, he wisely advises us that "Jersey Shore" style is "vulgar." Agreed!
I love that he always dresses up. I also find it somewhat charming that he has a slightly old-fashioned take on how women should dress (and by that I mean that he repeatedly says that women should cover up and that dressing up is a respect thing.)
What I don't like is when that old-fashioned attitude teeters on misogyny like it did on a recent George Lopez appearance (who definitely seemed to egg the fashion guru on.)
On the George Lopez show, George brings up a comment about how now women can run for president (uh, duh!) and then somehow that swings into a discussion of how badly Hillary Clinton dresses. Which leads Tim Gunn to say this about Hillary Clinton's pantsuits: "I think she's confused about her gender."
Say what? See for yourself (it's a long clip – forward to about 5 minutes to see the parts in question.)
Hey, I'm not above knocking Hillary Clinton's fashion choices occasionally (and in the spirit of full disclosure, I did question her use of wearing plastic hair clips to state meetings.) But I'm not sure how a women in a position of power wearing a pantsuit signals the fact that she's confused about her gender. I'd be curious to know what exactly these two men think would be a good choice for Hillary.
I'm as critical as the next fashionista, but I think her pantsuits are fine for her position. Would I wear them? Probably not. But then again I tend to spend my work days pondering the benefits of bootcut vs. straight-leg instead of strategizing multinational nuclear disarmament meetings like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton does.
I kept waiting for Tim Gunn to give an example of what he thought Hillary Clinton should be wearing. And got nothing except for the fact that he thought Hillary Clinton should "send a stronger message about American fashion." Yeah, because that's part of the job description for our political leaders…
Imagine the backlash if Hillary Clinton did shed her serious suits for a frilly print wrap dress or a sexy little black dress. If she did choose to wear something edgy/forward/designer she'd be criticized for being vapid and not serious enough to play with the big boys on a global stage.
The only solution I can come up with? Tim Gunn needs to shut up about Hillary Clinton's clothes. The end.