This mornings line up of fashion disasters

[DoYouEverWonder]

Where's Olgi Cassini when you need him?




First lady Laura Bush, French First Lady Bernadette Chirac, Sousa Uva Barroso, wife of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Flavia Franzoni, wife of Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi, Russia's First Lady Lyudmila Putin, Laureen Harper, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Cherie Blair, the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, pose for a picture during a meeting of G8 spouses in St. Petersburg July 16, 2006.

[SoCalDem]

1. Oleg Cassini

:P

Mrs Chirac and Mrs Harper are the only two who look like they put a little thought into what they wear..

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. Shows you how much I know about fashion

I can't even spell the dude's name right.

[leftchick]

6. the only reason I know

is because he is a crossword favorite.

[SoCalDem]

12. My late aunt loved him, and wore his designs

In the 60-'s he even designed bras.. (I wore them too).He also made the FIRST wonderbras.. one of his designs had a separate insert of varying sizes that could be slipped into a "pocket" on the underside of the cup, for a push-up effect.. (Alas, I never needed that style, but the ones I did wear were very comfy)

[leftchick]

20. SoCal

you never cease to amaze me with your knowledge of, well everything! Even Bras!

:)

[Swamp Rat]

22. I think I wore one on my head once.

When I was about 3 yrs old. :D

[Blue Belle]

47. He also designed for Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly...

Hell, he almost MARRIED Grace Kelly....

[ananda]

2. And that helmet hair...

Lord.

[Cronus Protagonist]

54. I wonder why Laura is standing BEHIND the group?

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[thepurpose]

4. Do these women not have assistants to help them dress for the public?

[itzamirakul]

41. Yes...but you should SEE the assistants...LOL...

This image just points out the lack of taste of RW women. I can give no excuses for the foreign ladies in the pic.

Frankly they all have that "dowdy", "I shop for my clothes at the Mall and then I wear them back to the same Mall to buy more tasteless clothes" look.

In that picture they look like they belong in the Sears catalog pages.

I notice that among the RW women on tv more of them are going back to being brunettes again instead of bleaching their brains out to be uniform blonde bimbo wannabes. I haven't watched Stephanopoulis in so long that I didn't realize that Cokie Roberts has returned to her dark brown roots. Probably the constant ass kissing of Bush has migrated from her lips to her hair. Ugh!

[RummyTheDummy]

5. Somebody call Michael Cors or Tim Gunn

Project Runway reference.

[phylny]

7. I dunno. The French and Canadian First Ladies look pretty good to me.

The others, not so much.

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. I just hate black clothes with white seams

Why does anyone want to draw attention to how something is sewn? Otherwise it was a lovely outfit.

Also the fuzzy stuff around Mrs. Chirac's hem has got to go.

[JuniperLea]

8. Ms. Chirac's ensemble

Looks like a Chanel inspired piece... the 1st lady looks like she just appeared in an episode of that 70s show.

[B Calm]

10. Stepford wifes

[Rosemary2205]

11. Oh meeeeeeooooooowwwww

Gessle peats I'll be glad when women are judged on who they are instead of what they are wearing. == that and I wonder how many incredible leadership assets we lose because a woman doesn't want to go through the constant crap of her hair, her clothes, her shoes, her weight, her crows feet.

sigh.

[Demit]

13. I doubt that anyone with leadership abilities lets that kind of petty

criticism stop them.

[Rosemary2205]

16. What about their wives?

I'll grant you most of the WOMEN who would make great national/international leaders are well beyond letting this kind of petty hurt.

But then you have people like Sarah Ferguson who makes no bones about the fact it really hurt her to where she had to get out of the public eye for awhile. So how many men choose not to get into national/international politics because the wife has already had enough of this kind of thing?

It's hurtful, it's demeaning, and there's no good that comes from it.

[Demit]

25. Those would be incredibly saintly men if they reject high-flying careers

because they want to shield their wives from commentary on their looks. LOL! So how many men do YOU think the world has tragically lost to this phenomenon?

[notadmblnd]

29. personally, I think John Engler (former Rep gov of MI) was one

he had presidential ambitions. Rumor was that his appearance killed his chances.

[itzamirakul]

43. Right! Look at Condi..She didn't let Katrina get in the way of shopping

for thousand dollar shoes AND BUYING SEVERAL PAIRS while people were still suffering in NOLA. If you are a REAL leadership lady, you ignore the peons and wear what you want while you wield power.

BTW...doesn't Laura's pantsuit in this pic look familiar? I think she has worn it several times before. That is a fashion no-no for the wives of rich men.(Being facetious here)

Edit for clarity

[Demit]

48. Well, I wouldn't think of C Rice as an example of leadership ability in

any regard. She is heartily disliked at the State Department, for example, and she's not exactly melting hearts in international diplomacy either. I think her shopping spree during Katrina was to flaunt her membership in the Do You Think We Give A Shit? administration. She's a follower.

[itzamirakul]

50. Hold on! LOL! You've got me here...How do we consider the

wives of heads of state to be "leaders" or be "examples of leadership ability" and do not consider the Secretary of State to be a leader?

One thing is for sure. I have no intention of defending Condi Rice...she is far from being one of my favorite people, but let's just say in general. How do the sometimes less than educated wives of heads of state outrank a Secretary of State when it comes to leadership abilities?

I don't understand your reference to leadership abilities when according to the op we were discussing the way these women were dressed and whether they should have had a wadrobe mistress. My first response re Condi was meant as a joke, which you seem to have taken seriously. :)

[Demit]

53. ummm...let's untangle this. There were a couple of conversations.

My post #13 (about anyone with leadership abilities) was a demurral to Rosemary's post #11, which had introduced the thought that leadership assets are lost because women don't want to go through the crap of being critiqued.

Your post #43 was a response to my #13, in which you seemed to be agreeing with me, and you introduced Condi as an example.

My post #48 was a response to your #43, in which I disagreed that Condi was a leader at all, and offered my idea on what she was signifying by her shoe shopping during Katrina.

I know the thread started out with a critique of the outfits on the G8 first ladies in the picture, but our subthread went off in another direction. I wasn't referring to the wives in talking about leadership abilities, and I don't think Rosemary was either. Maybe that was someone else somewhere else in the thread.

It was clear to me you were being snarky about Condi Rice and her appalling behavior during Katrina. I was just taking off from your post with a different thought. I don't know how you got that I did, but I never had the intention of comparing Condi Rice to the wives in the picture on the subject of leadership abilities. (Who I WOULD compare her to on the subject is Madeleine Albright, our first female Sec'y of State. But as you say, that would be a different discussion. :) )



I'll tell you, for great pictures & great snark on how first ladies dress, check out watertiger's commentary (and others' comments which are often just as brilliant) at http://derenegade.blogspot.com/ It's snark heaven.

[itzamirakul]

56. OK..Got it! Thanks for taking the time...I got lost there for a

minute. :)

BTW: thanks for the link....

[DoYouEverWonder]

18. These women aren't leaders of anything

They just happen to have married well.

Considering the staff and money these women have at their disposal you would think they could dress a little better?

[Rosemary2205]

19. What difference does it make?

Nancy Reagan spent a fortune on impressing people with image and we hated her for it. Sorry, I'll take substance over whether Laura has on a pantsuit or not. But that's just me.

In my neck of the woods we had a woman that did incredible charity work for the homeless. She's pretty wealthy but she's not exactly what most would call attractive and definately not fashion forward. The society page has been merciless here. About 3 years ago she just suddenly dropped out of sight. Recently it came out that all the constant criticism, both from the media and the little whispers and giggles at society events hurt her that much. She still does charity work but not to the extent she did. So basically, there's maybe homeless people with less all because Mrs. X wasn't wearing the "right" shoes.

Sorry, but I think that sucks.

[xchrom]

23. if margaret thatcher can be elected to office --

we are past the time you are refering to.

she was a taste disaster every waking moment of her life.

[Minnesota Libra]

14. The ONLY TWO who I consider appropriately dressed are........

.......Laureen Harper, the wife of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Cherie Blair, the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

I won't say too much about the others since I don't know the fashions of most of their countries. Although maybe someone should volunteer to have a private chat with "Russia's First Lady Lyudmila Putin".

I do hold out SPECIAL CONDEMNATION for Laura Bush though, she's got to get rid of those sporty pant suits at "official functions". Who dresses this idiot anyway??? No doubt someone idiot boy already nicknamed "disaster".

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. Laura seems to have a knack for dressing inappropriately

Like wearing pants suits when visiting Muslim countries, that sort of thing. I think she does it on purpose. She's very passive aggressive.

[Orangepeel]

37. What's wrong with pantsuits in Muslim countries?

it's much more culturally respectful than wearing something that shows her legs.

I don't like Laura Bush's taste in clothes or anything else (particularly husbands). But that particular issue doesn't seem like an issue to me. She should wear a burka?

[amandabeech]

26. If Laura substituted a skirt for the pants in her ensemble,

she would look much more appropriate.

Why she continues to wear a short jacket with pants is beyond me. I'd bet a million (if I had it) that she would look much better in pants if she wore a longer jacket with them, like Laureen Harper.

[mtnester]

38. I am with you on Laureen Harper, but I would take Cherie Blair off

and put Bernadette Chirac on. Her suite is tailored nicely to her frame, and it really is an attractive suite. Cherie Blair's suite is too big for her, and poorly tailored comparatively.

As for the rest, sheesh you can get better clothes off the rack at Dress Barn.

[Infomaniac]

17. I like Mrs Chirac's outfit

Mrs Chirac's suit does look like a classic Chanel if you dismiss the weird fringe on the skirt. Laura looks like she buys the fabric for her clothes in the shower curtain aisle and has them tailored by Amish carpenters. Mrs Barroso looks like her outfit was inspired by the movie "Killer Bees."

[mtnester]

40. Mrs. Chirac's suite is impeccably tailored for her as well

unlike the others, with the exception of Lareen.

[nosillies]

55. It could very well be Chanel, just older.

They did an ombre-style fringe big time like 3 years back or so. They still do fringe quite often. I guess it has a matronly appeal.

It's not so much that the suits are all bad, it's just that they're so ill-fitting!

Is it a prerequisite that women involved in any way in politics must like frumpy suits, or is it a prerequisite that only women who like frumpy suits will be allowed to be involved in politics in any way?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

21. Oh wait.... for a minute I thought I saw Jeff in there.... nevermind...

[xchrom]

24. i really only love bernadette chirac's outfit.

ms laureen harper is very tailored -- but very ordinary.

however -- the black is working me a little in the midst of those awful colours they've all chosen to wear.

laura just looks stupified --- and waaaay too suburban for words.

[displacedtexan]

27. Vera Wang is weeping.

[madrchsod]

28. i`ll give lyudmila a pass cause she`s stuck in russia

bernadette should know better-she`s french
yellow,black ,and white? sousa ,it`s not a good look
flavia? my god isn`t there anyone in italy that can help her?
blair-she`s english maybe betsy johnson can help her
harper is good looking ,so she can wear anything
laura- she doesn`t have a clue about how dreadful she looks

[splat@14]

30. They can keep a Salvador sweat shop going by themselves...n/t

[Theres-a]

31. They all have more money than God

Yet look at them.Are they just too rich to care?

[DoYouEverWonder]

32. What pisses me off

is that the ME is burning this morning and these gals are standing around posing for photo ops.

You would think they could muster up a thimbleful of concern?

[Theres-a]

34. The woman in black

Perhaps ,if her choice in color was deliberate,she has a conscience.If so,she must be very lonely.

[DoYouEverWonder]

35. Maybe that's why

she's more 'attractive' then the rest?

[Spazito]

45. Well, if she has a conscience, she might want to pass it on to her

husband. Steven Harper is a bush wannabe at the same time as he is working to replace Blair as bush's poodle. His comments on the crisis could have, maybe were, written by the bush admin.

[lonestarnot]

33. Pig in a poke pageant.

[Buns_of_Fire]

36. Sic Carson on the whole lot of 'em.

Husbands, too.

ESPECIALLY the husbands.

[aein]

39. I don't know, they look fine to me...shows how much I know about fashion

[Quantess]

42. Mrs. Harper and Mrs Blair look pretty good.

Mrs. Harper was right to wear solid black, as there is appropriately a lot worth mourning.

Once again, Laura Bush chooses 2 piece pajamas.

[kiraboo]

44. The necessity of wearing old-lady dresses and pastel suits

is reason enough never to get involved with politics. Or a politician.

[Cleita]

46. Maybe the thrift shop look is in fashion this year and we

are behind the times.

Sure. :rofl:

[DeepModem Mom]

49. Laura wore her PJs? Mrs. Chirac's Chanel ain't bad --

and I like Cherie's blue suit.

[kineneb]

51. just thinking

since they are spouses of world leaders, they should at least try to dress in a moderately fashionable manner. It isn't who makes the clothing or their cost, but how the clothing is worn. If done correctly, one can put together a fine ensemble from a thrift store, add a few accessories and look outstanding. Or one can spend far too much money on the wrong clothing and look like one is (or perhaps, should) be wearing a sack. It is all about style, something dear Laura, and some of the others in the photo, lack.

Grandma always said one ought to look one's best when going out in public.

[ToeBot]

52. A near unanimity of Shoes!

Laureen Harper the lone dissenter and the former Mrs. Koizumi breathing several sighs of blessed relief.

[Bluebear]

57. Does Laura have some endorsement deal with Butterick or something?

Everything looks homemade. By George. On a bender.

[LibDemAlways]

58. Pickles just looks ridiculous, like she's showing

off the latest Wal-Mart purchase she dug out of the bargain bin and is on her way out for a night of bunco with her girlfriends. With her money, and seeing as how she's spending our money to attend the G8, she could at least look like she gives a shit. I keep waiting for some designer to rescue her, but they probably all hate the Bush Crime Family so much they just let her flounder.