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Summer bursts with a splash of color |
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By The Hill Staff
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Posted: 06/09/05 12:00 AM [ET] |
The stem-cell debate on the House floor brought an explosion of colorful clothing. Bursts of petal pinks, fuchsias and tangerines made it evident that summer has arrived, and that some members may need time to adjust.
Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) wore a tomato-orange frock, which was cheery and as noticeable as a crossing guard’s uniform. | | file photo | | Left, Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.). |
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Rep. Sue Myrick (R-N.C.) wore a hospital-green dress with fringes up and down the seams, and a giant fabric flower on one lapel. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) wore a dark Hawaiian shirt underneath a coral-pink blazer — as suited to a tropical vacation as to the House floor.
Some members chose a more subdued look. Rep. Melissa Hart (R-Pa.) wore a boxy dark-gray suit with a blue-and-white-striped shirt. Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) chose a loose fitting taupe suit and black-and-white polka-dot tie.
Back in the garden, Rep. Diana DeGette’s (D-Colo.) ensemble overpowered the senses. The red, white and blue in her silk scarf were patriotic but, unusually, they are mixed with magenta and worn over a Popsicle-grape blazer.
Clashing colors can work. Princess Diana often wore colors that didn’t seemingly belong together, such as pinks and purples. Just as some women find ways of mixing stripes, checks and plaids as well as pinks and greens, several women in Congress were apparently feeling an exuberance of the spirit, blithely inspired by the warmer temperatures.
My new confidant, Inga Guen, who owns an upscale boutique in Washington and dresses some female lawmakers, says purples and reds can be worn together — Yves St. Laurent used the colors at the height of his designing. The key, she says, is that he used the “most expensive fabrics. Only then can you achieve the most stunning look.”
Guen, who often combs Milan and Paris for the latest fashion trends, says the season promises to be full of bright colors such as “unbelievable pinks and lime greens.” Guen, who owns Inga’s Once is Not Enough, advises that women stay away from beiges and flock toward the orange family. “Just orange toenails would be fine,” she says. “It doesn’t mean you have to go out and buy an orange dress.”
A mix of patterns can be perilous, but it can be done. For instance, a subtle striped shirt can be paired with a bold polka-dot tie. A madras tie, which usually involves a wild spray of blues and reds, can match well with a solid shirt that combines with at least one of the colors in the tie.
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) was among the few who looked both summery and cool. He wore a classic dark suit, a white button-down shirt and a beautiful blue, white and navy striped tie.
Rep. Marci Kaptur (D-Ohio) was both feminine and elegant in a simple white pantsuit with an azure shirt underneath.
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) rounded out the afternoon in a sky-blue suit, a simple white scoop-neck shirt and a large strand of bronze pearls.
The season’s bright colors need not always be simple or subdued, but they present challenges. This summer on the Hill promises to be a spectacle. |
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