Whole thing started when I was scrolling through old political pics for my style blog. Saw Hillary Clinton giving that famous pantsuit speech, you know the one? Zoomed in and boom – those bright red pumps just grabbed your eyes. Felt like it deserved a deeper dive.
First Steps Down The Rabbit Hole
Opened Photoshop right away, started comparing pics of her shoes from like, the 90s through her campaigns. Noticed a pattern – mostly classic pumps, thick heels, always polished but rarely wild. Except for that red pair! Couldn’t shake how much they stood out against all the navy blue and black she usually wore.
Decided to track down where she actually bought them. Hours down the drain! Found articles mentioning Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo… but no solid proof anywhere. Kinda frustrating. Then stumbled on way too many articles dissecting her entire wardrobe. Seriously, some folks were obsessed with sleeve length more than policy! Seemed crazy.
Writing It Out & The Reaction
Sat down yesterday morning to draft. Focused on how people get sidetracked by fashion instead of substance. Threw in some bullet points people love:
- That red moment: Pure power play, or just a bad choice? Made her impossible to ignore.
- Everyday picks: Solid colors, rounded toes, thick heels – practically uniform stuff.
- The double standard: Found dozens of articles critiquing her choices, while male pols wore the same boring oxfords for decades without comment.
Edited it down, kept it short. Just the facts and what I thought about the bigger picture of focusing on shoes over speeches. Hit publish around lunchtime.
Holy Cow, It Blew Up
Thought maybe a few fashion history folks would dig it. Wrong! By dinner time, comments were split right down the middle:
- Half the folks: Agreed! Called it shallow, sexist nonsense to talk footwear.
- Other half: Lost their minds! “Fashion IS communication!” “Red was genius strategy!” One person actually claimed her choice of nude pump shade changed polling numbers.
Why do I know about this double standard so much? Because back in 2015, I had foot surgery. Stuck on the couch for weeks. Flipping channels, saw ten talking heads in two hours analyzing Clinton’s suit jacket cut. Meanwhile, they showed footage of Mitch McConnell wearing shoes that looked like they survived a flood. Not. One. Comment. About. His. Shoes. Sat there stewing, realizing how ridiculously uneven the scrutiny was. That stuck with me.
Wrapped up the post by saying: maybe stop arguing about her Ferragamos and start arguing about her policies instead. Guess what? Made them argue about THAT too. Wild day. Now my DMs are full of shoe pics – some amazing designer pairs, some truly hideous platforms. Got what I asked for, I suppose!
