Clothes and Image

In another fawning Style section article, today's WaPost discusses Nancy Pelosi's "sartorial modesty."

But dispite this -- the story does go on to make some important points about the importance of clothes ...

Everyone has tools they rely on to help them look as dignified as they feel. Take away those aides and it can be more difficult to maintain one's bearing.

Clothing can evoke authority, but at the most basic level it is an expression of control. Prison coveralls wrest autonomy from convicts. School uniforms attempt to level the playing field so that no clique can dominate the student body. In both cases, individuals fight to reclaim a sense of self, whether by shortening the hem of a skirt or accessorizing the body with tattoos.

... So true.