“When I ran for Senate in 2000 and President in 2008, I basically had a uniform: a simple pantsuit, often black, with a colorful shell underneath,” Clinton writes.
The reason she chose this uniform? She enjoys how they make her look and feel.
“I did this because I like pantsuits,” Clinton writes. “They make me feel professional and ready to go.”
Clinton says another benefit to having a uniform is finding an easy way to fit in with the rest of the guys.
“I also thought it would be good to do what male politicians do and wear more or less the same thing every day,” Clinton writes.
She writes that “as a woman running for President,” she liked the “visual cue” that she was “different from the men but also familiar.”
Even in a professional setting, what you wear can play a major role in how people perceive your message. Having a signature look has helped Clinton avoid chatter around her outfit, she writes.
“A uniform was also an anti-distraction technique: since there wasn’t much to say or report on what I wore, maybe people would focus on what I was saying instead,” Clinton writes.
But wearing pantsuits was not primarily just a choice, but also a necessity to guard herself from creeps.
“They helped me avoid the peril of being photographed up my skirt while sitting on a stage or climbing stairs,” Clinton writes, “both of which happened to me as First Lady.”
She explains that after that instance, she took a cue from one of her childhood heroes, Nancy Drew, because she “would often do her detective work in sensible trousers.”
Clinton writes that during the presidential campaign, she wanted to dress as she did when she wasn’t running for president. This would also help her “not overthink it.”
Clinton’s relationships with American designers also led them to create very versatile looks she could “wear from place to place, in all climates.”
“Some people like my clothes and some people don’t. It goes with the territory,” Clinton writes. “You can’t please everybody, so you may as well wear what works for you.”
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