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October 26, 2015

A Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Style

By Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik

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Photo: Karin Cooper/Getty Images

Of the many hurdles Ruth Bader Ginsburg faced when she was sworn in as a female justice on the United States Supreme Court, one was what to wear with the traditional black robe. Men on the court generally pair theirs with a shirt and tie. Ginsburg chose to go with lacy collars and the occasional jabot. Her collection has grown to over a dozen from all over the world, including a “dissent collar” and a “majority opinion collar,” as she described them to Katie Couric.

Ginsburg’s known for other accessories, too. There are her clip-on earrings, plus her lace and fishnet gloves, which she took a liking to after initially wearing them for post-chemotherapy protection in 1999. And then there are her flashy looks sans robes, like a green dashiki or a turquoise ensemble made of Chinese silk. Read on for an excerpt from the new book Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsberg about RBG’s style, and click through the slideshow to see some of her best looks. 

Rarely does she go casual. According to Jeffrey Toobin’s The Nine, during a massive snowstorm, RBG and the other justices were picked up in jeeps for oral argument. “Ginsburg chose to wear a straight skirt and high heels,” Toobin reported. “Because of the snow on the ground and Ginsburg’s outfit, the driver, who usually worked in the clerk’s office, had to lift the tiny justice into the air and deposit her in the car. (Later, Ginsburg wrote the fellow a letter of recommendation for law school.)

Dress is one issue on which RBG can be a conservative. Her oldest granddaughter, Clara, says RBG will not-so-subtly offer her a shawl if she thinks Clara’s shirt is too low cut. In her freshman year of college, Clara got her nose pierced, along with a total of thirteen piercings in her ears, much to RBG’s horror. “She kept calling it ‘that thing on your face,’” Clara says, amused. To me, RBG expressed relief that at least a nose ring, unlike a tattoo, could be easily removed.

At public functions, RBG wears gloves, often black or white lace. In the dead of winter in Michigan, she wore daring knee-high leather boots. She usually carries the Constitution in her handbag, and after she got an MZ Wallace tote in the Glamour gift bag, she liked it so much she bought another. (She bought one for Clara too.) She has a weakness for Ferragamo shoes. RBG’s hair is invariably combed back severely, often affixed with a scrunchie. Every once in a while, she would come to chambers wearing a turban, and her secretaries would warn the clerks, according to one of them, that it was a turban day, “so that we wouldn’t giggle when we saw her.”

Reprinted with permission from Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Copyright © 2015 by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik.

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1 / 13 Photos
In a classic RBG look, celebrating her 20th anniversary on the bench at the Supreme Court in August, 2013.  Photo: Nikki Kahn/The Washington Po... In a classic RBG look, celebrating her 20th anniversary on the bench at the Supreme Court in August, 2013.  Photo: Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Arriving to the Korean State Dinner at the White House in October, 2011.  Photo: Bill O’Leary/2011 The Washington Post
Wearing fishnet gloves while hugging President Obama before his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in January, 2011.  Photo: Chip Somod... Wearing fishnet gloves while hugging President Obama before his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in January, 2011.  Photo: Chip Somodevilla/2011 Getty Images
Embellished teal at a gala opening-night dinner after a Washinton Opera performance in Washington, D.C., in October, 2000.  Photo: Karin Cooper
Speaking at the Women's Conference in Long Beach, California, in October, 2010.  Photo: Bloomberg/Getty Images
In a gilded caftan at the Shakespeare Theater Gala in Washington, D.C., in April, 1999.  Photo: Karin Cooper
In neutrals at a Washington, D.C., dinner in honor of Michelle Bachelet, Chile's first female president, in June, 2006.  Photo: Brendan Smialow... In neutrals at a Washington, D.C., dinner in honor of Michelle Bachelet, Chile's first female president, in June, 2006.  Photo: Brendan Smialowski/2006 Getty Images
Wearing one of her jabots at the Supreme Court in December, 2003.  Photo: JOYCE NALTCHAYAN/2003 AFP
In leather with Associate Justice Elena Kagan at the opening-night gala of the Washington National Opera in September, 2012.  Photo: Bloomberg/... In leather with Associate Justice Elena Kagan at the opening-night gala of the Washington National Opera in September, 2012.  Photo: Bloomberg/2012 Bloomberg
Bundled up with the rest of the Supreme Court members before the swearing-in ceremony of President George W. Bush in January, 2001.  Photo: TIM... Bundled up with the rest of the Supreme Court members before the swearing-in ceremony of President George W. Bush in January, 2001.  Photo: TIM CLARY
Wearing sunglasses and hugging tenor Placido Domingo after he sang part of her citation for an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at Harvard Universi... Wearing sunglasses and hugging tenor Placido Domingo after he sang part of her citation for an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at Harvard University's 360th Commencement Exercises in May, 2011. She later called his performance "glorious" and one of the greatest moments of her life, and owns a copy of his collar worn in Verdi's Stiffelio that she purchased in the Metropolitan Opera gift shop.  Photo: BRIAN SNYDER/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Wearing one of her straight skirts in her chambers at the Supreme Court in August, 2002.  Photo: David Hume Kennerly/David Hume Kennerly
Wearing a lacy pair of gloves with U.S.-France ambassador Howard H. Leach and Supreme Court judges Stephen Breyer and Sandra Day O'Connor after meetin... Wearing a lacy pair of gloves with U.S.-France ambassador Howard H. Leach and Supreme Court judges Stephen Breyer and Sandra Day O'Connor after meeting with French President Jacques Chirac at the Élysée Palace in July, 2003.  Photo: PATRICK KOVARIK/2003 AFP
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