Lauren Tuck

Did You Notice That All the Women at the SOTU Were Wearing Bright Colors?

Lauren Tuck

·News Editor

January 14, 2016 at 3:52 AM

A view of the entire audience — with many of the women wearing bright rainbow colors —?at the State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on January 12, 2016, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

First lady Michelle Obama in a Narciso Rodriguez dress at her husband’s last State of the Union address Tuesday night.?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, wearing a lace collar over her robe, sat with her fellow justices at the State of the Union address Tuesday night.

A woman wearing a red blazer and a red sequin scarf steals attention away from the man of the hour, President Barack Obama, as he?exits the House chamber after delivering his final State of the Union address Tuesday night.?

The crowd going wild — including a woman wearing a very large brooch — at the?State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Kim Davis wearing a Cosby sweater plucked from the Goodwill bin?at the State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan shows off his freshly shaved face?at the State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Nancy Pelosi wearing a black dress with a blue beaded necklace?at the State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., speaks to reporters following the weekly House GOP conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on January 12, 2016, in Washington, D.C. She wore the same outfit — an animal print blazer over a maroon dress — to the State of the Union later that night.?

A view of the entire audience — with many of the women wearing bright rainbow colors — at the State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on January 12, 2016, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

“I think the women always stand out more in these situations because they have the opportunity to wear bright color. You’re never going to see a male representative in a red suit, but you very often see a female representative in one,” fashion blogger Christina Logothetis told Yahoo Style. (Photo: AP)

Something sartorially striking caught my eye at the State of the Union on Tuesday night. Sure, my ears were delighted listening to President Obama’s final address to the nation, and he looked pretty dapper in a navy blue suit and a striped tie, but it was the view of the audience that piqued my interest as a fashion fan. Whenever the camera panned away from POTUS to give a view of the crowd (catching kids sleeping, Marco Rubio making faces, or Michelle Obama’s box of guests), bright colors popped onscreen. Against a sea of men seated in the U.S. Capitol building wearing navy blue suits with red or blue ties, it was the women who stole the limelight.

Have women always been so audacious with their color choices and I just haven’t noticed? Or is this a new trend, one fueled by feminism and the fact that more women than ever were in attendance at the SOTU. Christina Logothetis, a Washington, D.C.-based image consultant and fashion blogger for the Style of Politics, explained to Yahoo Style that women always stand out more in these situations because they have the opportunity to wear bright color. “You’re never going to see a male representative in a red suit, but you very often see a female representative in one,” she said. “We do have a record number of women in Congress right now, but we also have a good representation of women in the Cabinet, which puts those women up front and center.”

Among those who caught the camera’s eye were the lady that wore a ROYGBV bouclé blazer with a massive magenta floral brooch. Logothetis noted that U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker’s bright red suit was particularly striking and gave the most daring look of the night award to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who took a risk by wearing an animal-print blazer over a maroon dress. Yet the boldest ensemble of the night definitely goes to FLOTUS, who opted for a marigold sheath from designer Narciso Rodriguez. As Matt Fuller, a political reporter, put it: “Even the Republicans are giving her a full clap — none of that golf stuff.” Now, that’s saying something.

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Did You Notice That All the Women at the SOTU Were Wearing Bright Colors?

A view of the entire audience — with many of the women wearing bright rainbow colors — at the State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on January 12, 2016, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.