An Ode to Michele Bachmann’s Flashy Political Style
Photo: Richard Ellis/Getty Images, AFP/Getty Images, Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Today, Minnesota congresswoman and “President of Crazyland” Michele Bachmann announced she will not seek reelection. She will be remembered for her telegenic but fact-defying public statements, her telegenic but vote-repelling presidential campaign, and an ongoing probe into her campaign finances. For some, though, she will also be remembered for her style.
Bachmann was the rare politician who openly discussed her clothing and self-presentation. She discussed shopping bargains, once gave an interview from a dressing room at Macy’s, and wrote in her memoir about taking styling tips from George W. Bush. (“Lose the gloves,” he reportedly advised on a ladylike ensemble she wore to a campaign event.) When she first won her congressional seat in 2006, she vowed to “hit the ground running, even in high heels”; suffering migraines on the presidential trail in 2011, she reportedly blamed the shoes. (Her doctor son noted a “correlation” between his mother’s footwear and headaches.) Her campaign finance filings revealed a $4,700 presidential candidate makeover. Her acrylic French tips have been theorized to be the source of her strength. We now present a complete guide to the style evolution of Michele Bachmann as a national politician.
November 2006: Wins Seat in U.S. Congress To celebrate her jump from state to national politics, Bachmann wore a pearl choker and drop earrings, ...
November 2006: Wins Seat in U.S. Congress To celebrate her jump from state to national politics, Bachmann wore a pearl choker and drop earrings, upswept hair, and a dress she described as "a black, crepey-chiffony kind of cocktail dress" in a Star Tribune interview where she described her style inspirations as Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy. Note that she is wearing neither false lashes nor acrylic nails.
Photo: Jim Mone/AP
April 2010: First Appearance with Sarah Palin Fellow small-town right-wing northerner Sarah Palin also appreciates pearls, updos, and black cloth...
April 2010: First Appearance with Sarah Palin Fellow small-town right-wing northerner Sarah Palin also appreciates pearls, updos, and black clothing. During Palin's vice-presidential run, Bachmann and Palin bore frequent comparison. For their first joint appearance at a Minneapolis rally, Palin borrowed Bachmann's 2006 election look. Though Bachmann's garments appears simple in this picture, note that she is wearing a flowing, flowered skirt below the frame.
Photo: Jim Mone/AP/Corbis
Autumn 2010: Tea Party Stardom As Bachmann gains momentum as a tea-party star, she continues to enjoy blinged-up clothing, but her makeup and fin...
Autumn 2010: Tea Party Stardom As Bachmann gains momentum as a tea-party star, she continues to enjoy blinged-up clothing, but her makeup and fingernails remain understated. "I dress fairly simply," Bachmann once said. "I like clean lines. I like solid colors. But I like an outfit to have a little kick."
Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
March 2011: French Tip Debut In early 2011, Bachmann's style begins to shift. She wears a squared-off French-tip acrylic manicure, which she will...
March 2011: French Tip Debut In early 2011, Bachmann's style begins to shift. She wears a squared-off French-tip acrylic manicure, which she will keep for the duration of her presidential campaign. For a woman who once bragged about buying skirt suits for $39, the brocade suit Bachmann wears here, for a briefing on U.S. military action in Libya, is rather luxe.
Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
June 2011: Announces Presidential Candidacy Bachmann's French tips were in full force when she announced her presidential candidacy in Waterloo, ...
June 2011: Announces Presidential Candidacy Bachmann's French tips were in full force when she announced her presidential candidacy in Waterloo, Iowa, the hometown of her youth. (And source of at least one awkward gaffe.) She is photographed here with husband Marcus, who, she told the Star Tribune, does much of her shopping: "Before Vice President Dick Cheney's visit this past summer, Bachmann's husband, Marcus, hit the stores—'he's got a good sense of style'—and came home with 'a sleek, simple hourglass dress with a yoke collar in winter white.' He even bought a matching coat and shoes." Marcus also shopped for doggie sunglasses during Michele's campaign. Don't worry, Marcus knows what you're thinking about him, but seems to have a sense of humor about it. He maintains that his faith-based therapy clinic does not push gay conversion therapy.
Photo: Steve Pope/Getty Images
June 2011: Candidacy Announcement, Part II Bachmann spent $4,700 on hair and makeup in the weeks surrounding her announcement. This is around the...
June 2011: Candidacy Announcement, Part II Bachmann spent $4,700 on hair and makeup in the weeks surrounding her announcement. This is around the time she started wearing false eyelashes. Bachmann often wore open-toe shoes during her candidacy, but since she appears to wear pantyhose in this picture, it's hard to tell if she got pedicures. Later in her campaign, when she battled migraines, Bachmann would consider whether her high heels were the cause.
Photo: Steve Pope/Getty Images
August 2011: On the Campaign Trail Bachmann's squared-off French tips were ablaze at a campaign event in South Carolina. This appears to be the s...
August 2011: On the Campaign Trail Bachmann's squared-off French tips were ablaze at a campaign event in South Carolina. This appears to be the same pale pink dress she described in her memoir, in a scene where President Bush gives her style advice. Fox News summarizes: "Hewing to her mother's advice to appear 'ladylike' in public, Bachmann had donned a pink suit and pink gloves. At one point along their campaign route, the 43rd president asked Bachmann, 'with a crinkly smile,' why she was wearing gloves. After she explained, Bush said gently: 'Lose the gloves.'"
Photo: Richard Ellis/Getty Images
September 2011: GOP Presidential Debate Some would argue that Bachmann's white military-inspired (or perhaps cruise-ship-inspired) jacket was her...
September 2011: GOP Presidential Debate Some would argue that Bachmann's white military-inspired (or perhaps cruise-ship-inspired) jacket was her all-time best theme look ...
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
November 2011: Veterans' Day Parade ... I, however, would argue that her all-time best theme look must include the American flag neckerchief she ...
November 2011: Veterans' Day Parade ... I, however, would argue that her all-time best theme look must include the American flag neckerchief she wore to a Veterans' Day parade in South Carolina during her presidential campaign.
Photo: Richard Ellis/Getty Images
January 2011: Campaign Crumbling The week before she dropped out of the GOP presidential candidate runnings, Bachmann dropped her signature Frenc...
January 2011: Campaign Crumbling The week before she dropped out of the GOP presidential candidate runnings, Bachmann dropped her signature French tips. Pictured at right showing off phone contacts while discussing where her campaign would get funds next, Bachmann also displays a rounded metallic manicure. The effect is more subdued than the manicure she wore at her peak.
Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
January 2011: Resigns from Presidential Race After a sixth-place finish at the Iowa caucus, Bachmann resigned from the GOP presidential race wear...
January 2011: Resigns from Presidential Race After a sixth-place finish at the Iowa caucus, Bachmann resigned from the GOP presidential race wearing her most mondo eyelashes yet. Her French tips, however, are gone.
Photo: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
January 2011: Eyelash Comparison Bachmann is a woman of many eyelashes. At left, a thin pair she wore for an official portrait. At right, the thi...
January 2011: Eyelash Comparison Bachmann is a woman of many eyelashes. At left, a thin pair she wore for an official portrait. At right, the thicker set she preferred for public appearances.
Photo: The Washington Post/Getty Images
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Today: Playful Style, No Manicure And so we arrive at Bachmann's return to Congress, where she continues to favor dramatic eye makeup but rarely ...
Today: Playful Style, No Manicure And so we arrive at Bachmann's return to Congress, where she continues to favor dramatic eye makeup but rarely paints her nails. For her video announcement that she would not seek reelection, Bachmann wore a satin suit with pearls. Though MicheleBachmann.com, the site where she posted the video, features a photograph of Bachmann wearing acrylic nails, the last time she was photographed, she was not wearing them.
Photo: MICHAEL MATHES/AFP/Getty Images
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
1
/
13