VeryCoolSpouse, now much cooler, has been invited to have her picture taken with the Senator. She will be hustled to “an undisclosed location” tomorrow morning and can’t decide what to wear. She has been briefed about calling him “Senator Obama” and other protocol, but no one mentioned attire. She is one of the chosen because of her tireless organizing work* here in one of the critical swing states.
Is there precedent for this?
If I have overstepped with too much info in this post, mods feel free to edit. I’m just a bit giddy about the whole thing. The question about attire is the important bit.
How she does it, I’ll never know. We have 8 kids, our eldest daughter just got married last month and we hosted the wedding & reception at our house. She’s a professional artist and had an opening last Friday. She also started and still runs The LOOK Project–a charity that supports older kids in “Child Welfare Institutions” in China.
I’d go in business attire. It looks respectful and professional, and (in some ways more importantly) it looks classic. She’ll want to show that picture years and even decades from now, so she should be wearing something she won’t wince over later.
A suit in an earth tone with a brighter blouse is hard to beat.
My first thought was that I would want to look like a woman in a significant political position, say, one of the 16 women senators. But of course she should dress however she feels most comfortable in a professional setting, and since the picture will probably be hanging on her wall for years to come, in something that she feels is flattering. I hope she really enjoys the opportunity; I have to admit I’m a little envious.
Subdued, but classic is the way to go. Nothing really LOUD as in prints or stripes or pattern. She’s an artist–she can figure this out. A jacket over a solid colored blouse sounds great. If she doesn’t have stuff like that (and I don’t either–I have no need for “business” clothes), try to go for distinguished academic–tweedy, fall colors. Be neat as a pin, no matter what; hair and makeup tidy; jewelry that reflects her artistic side w/o overwhelming her outfit or face.
Smile and enjoy your minute of fame! That is so exciting.
This. If there is any prospect at all that she is going to want to show people this picture in future years, if I were her I’d stay away from anything trendy. Otherwise in 20 years when she’s showing it to her granchildren, all she’ll hear is something about how dumb that shirt/blazer/sweater looks rather than focusing on the moment. I would also go for a classic suit.
I vote for the female equivalent of a suit/tie for men. As noted above, this is a picture she’s going to value for the rest of her life. Depending on how the election and next few years go, this may be something her great grandchildren will proudly show off to everyone they know. Buisness/professional seems to be the way to go.
Congratulations to VeryCoolSpouse! I saw Obama this afternoon in Pueblo. I had to take a day off work and spend half the day standing in the sun (and the other half sitting in a car) but it was worth it. I really wanted to get to meet him, but I wasn’t tireless enough. We need lots of people like your wife! I can’t stand the thought that I might find out on November 5 that we lost Colorado by a number of doors I could have knocked on. My county went to Bush four years ago by 160 votes! (Of course I wasn’t living here then…
