Too short, too tight, too low-cut, too relaxed, too feminine and even sometimes too sexual… For several years now, the outfits of French female politicians have been scrutinized, analyzed and dissected on social networks and have sparked lively debates in the rest of the world. media at the slightest fashion faux pas. Not to mention the sexist or inappropriate punchlines of certain dominant males. And all means are good to destabilize your opponent! We remember, for example, the affair of the very expensive clothes of Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet and Rachida Dati, the apparent “bra” of Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the white dress printed with blue flowers by Cécile Duflot whistled at the Assembly national flag, faded gray jeans by Valérie Pécresse, mini-dresses that were too high on the thighs by Fleur Pellerin or fluorescent pink Crocs by Roselyne Bachelot on the steps of the Élysée. Has fashion become the new obsession of the French political class? On the other side of the Atlantic, in order to avoid any sterile debate, Kamala Harris and Jill Biden, the vice-president and first lady of the United States, have been very clear: during their mandate, they will not answer no questions from reporters about their toilets. But why does the question of clothing arise so much among women in power, when we rarely wonder about that of their male counterparts?
Fashion, a political weapon like any other
“The range of possibilities for politicians is much smaller,” explains Denis Bruna, chief curator at the Museum of Decorative Arts. The dark suit, the pale shirt, the heavy tie, the black lace-up shoes – oxfords or derbies – which constitute a quasi-uniform, unchanged since the 19th century, preserve them from extravagance and consequently from mockery. “A feeling shared by Sophie Lemahieu, fashion historian at the Ecole du Louvre and author of the book” Dressing in politics. The clothes of women in power, 1936-2022”: “We very often talk about the outfits of women politicians, sometimes reducing them to their physique, unlike men. Beyond clothing, even a haircut can be interpreted. Any change leads to questions from the media or the public: why this transformation? Have his ideas changed? What message is she now trying to convey? Or: why does she try to divert attention with her looks? In an ultra-connected world where photos invade Instagram and where image often takes precedence over speech, far from being futile, fashion is more than ever a political weapon like any other.
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Everything we wear reveals things about our personality
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In the 17th and 18th centuries, in the courts of Europe, kings “made” fashions and people followed them. Clothing was then a foil, the mirror of social condition. But the adoption of the democratic regime and the republican system imposed sobriety, classicism and constancy. A single motto: the voter in the viewfinder! “Clothing is our identity card,” notes fashion historian Florence Müller. It reveals and defines us every day. Everything we wear reveals things about our personality and how we want to define ourselves in relation to others. It is a silent preamble to the speech, a real standpoint that we can read, often unconsciously, and which says a lot about our convictions, whether moral or political. »
The first questions about fashion in politics appeared in 1936. That year, Cécile Brunschvicg, Suzanne Lacore and Irène Joliot-Curie were appointed Under-Secretaries of State even though they did not yet have the right to vote. “The question then arose of how these three women were going to have to dress in this world of men, analyzes Sophie Lemahieu. And there was in particular the delicate case of the hat when occupying the benches of the hemicycle for the first time. Bare-headed or with a hat? In the 1930s, it was indeed agreed that a woman “is not dressed” if she has no headgear. And, unlike a man, she has to keep it on when she enters a place. Eventually, they will be allowed to uncover their heads. A first victory for feminism! For the rest of the silhouette, this trio of quasi-ministers complies with the rules in force in the public space: wear the clothes of their sex, their age, their rank. The dress and the skirt suit, reaching below the knee or just baring the ankle, were fashionable at a time when trousers were still largely the prerogative of men. It will be necessary to wait until the 1980s before the latter is finally officially authorized on the legs of politicians. “We owe this stylistic advance to Michèle Alliot-Marie, specifies Sophie Lemahieu.
In 1972, while she was an adviser to the Ministry of Social Affairs, she presented herself to the National Assembly in trousers. The episode is well known: the ushers do not want to let in this woman who, by her clothing, breaks with the traditional codes of her gender in an environment as formal as the hemicycle. “If it’s my pants that bother you, I’ll take them off as soon as possible,” she says, before finally obtaining the right to access her workplace. This event marks the beginning of the masculinization of the dressing room of female politicians who, to have more credit with voters and their colleagues, will blend into the mass of these gentlemen present in the vast majority. Thus, in the 1980s and 1990s, they adopted the pantsuit and shortened their hair.
Nicolas Sarkozy with his bling allure and his glamorous and very fashionable wives
The stylistic deciphering in the general information media – excluding fashion magazines, therefore – of the candidates for the presidency really began during the 2007 campaign. fashion about political figures, it was not a worthy subject, explains Florence Müller. And then Nicolas Sarkozy went through it, with his bling allure and his glamorous and very fashionable wives (Cécilia then Carla Bruni) who created a break with the hyperclassicism of Mmes de Gaulle, Giscard d’Estaing or Chirac. Only Claude Pompidou was very trendy, but she remains a parenthesis lost in the middle of an ocean of BCBG women with totally non-existent stylistic intentions.
As for Simone Veil, who today we can think was very modern because she wore the Chanel suit a lot, we must not forget that at that time Gabrielle Chanel disappeared. At the dawn of the 1970s, the Parisian house fell asleep. She continues to use Mademoiselle patterns, changes the fabrics a bit, but it’s always the same formula. Before the arrival of Karl Lagerfeld in 1983, it was an aging brand that dressed the bourgeois. However, if this is not a strong fashion act on the part of the minister, it is the beginning of the notion of the habit of power in the locker room of politicians. When Coco Chanel developed the suit in the 1950s, it was with the idea of offering a female equivalent to the male suit, a kind of counterpoint worthy of a woman in power.
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Thanks to #MeToo, young female politicians no longer want to masculinize themselves to be credible
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Abandon the male uniform, this master key worn to please the greatest number, and finally affirm your true personality. In 2022, the thing no longer seems so utopian for Sophie Lemahieu. “Thanks to #MeToo, the movement that freed women’s voices, in October 2017, on the gender-based and sexual violence of which they are victims, young female politicians seem to have a little more facility to brush aside remarks and criticisms on the how they are dressed. While keeping a dignified attitude, they claim to be women and to have a body that belongs to them. They no longer want to become masculine in order to be credible and make their ideas heard. And it’s finally played well politically, because we recognize ourselves better in them when they work in this way. »
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If the path to wisdom still seems strewn with pitfalls, Florence Müller is also optimistic: “The day we have a woman president, we can imagine a big change, and perhaps finally forget the democratic dress in favor powerful clothing. If we make the connection with the female personalities of the star system, actresses or singers such as Rihanna, Rosalia or Beyoncé, they use the weapon of fashion in a triumphant way. And we must not forget that fashion is a French industry that contributes to the good economic health of the country. Remember that it represents more in overall turnover than aeronautics and automotive. It is therefore essential to support it in the eyes of the world. If our handbags agree with our political ideas, it would seem that the clothes do indeed make the vote. Ladies candidates, dare to develop your sense of hype!
“Dressing in politics. The clothes of women in power, 1936 – 2022”, by Sophie Lemahieu, ed. Decorative Arts, 160 pages, 35 euros.
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