These Shoes Are Made for Stalking

"Days spent chasing lawmakers on the Capitol’s marble floors can be a challenge," Jonathan E. Kaplan says in an article this month in Washingtonian. "The hard marble puts pressure on knees and backs and even makes for slips." Well, we knew all that, so the interesting part? His short piece takes a look at Congressional correspondents and their preferred footwear - and I have to say poo-poo to most of them!

I wear at least 3.5-inch heels on the Hill on most days, and do I complain? No! Why? Because they are feminine and dress- and location-appropriate, and I manage to find ones that are actually pretty comfortable.

Big props to "shoe addict" Susan Milligan of the Boston Globe (pictured above right), she "toughs it out wearing flashy stilettos. She admits they 'kill' her back, but they also get her noticed. One Massachusetts Democrat routinely comments on her shoes." Nice job and I love the flash of color - something way-too lacking under the Dome.

Some more tidbits - some of which frankly scare me:

“Rubber soles are a must,” says Anne Kornblut, who often tracks the movements of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (who wears low heels) for the Washington Post. Kornblut says she’s found a shoe-repair shop that will add rubber soles to her leather shoes. (This is key! I make sure to have no-slips and rubber soles on my shoes to avoid falling, and more importantly, to avoid making loads of noise with each step.) ...

... CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Yellin prefers clogs because they’re good for posture and are more attractive than many other ergonomically friendly shoes. (There's a photo with the story that I would be happy NEVER seeing again!)

Juliet Eilperin, a onetime congressional reporter for the Post who now writes about the environment, says former majority leader Dick Armey, a Texas Republican, taught her that cowboy boots are best for pounding the marble floors. (Do I even need to say anything here?)

To read the entire article, with a lot more about journos' secret lives, click here...

– Jay Clendenin/Washingtonian

Quotable

"I always thought those were Jimmy Carter colors."

– Robert Novak, upon being presented with a Heritage Foundation necktie (lime green, kinda reminiscent of Carter's '76 posters, with a blue Liberty Bell motif), after the columnist's lunchtime speech yesterday at the conservative think tank to promote his new book, "The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington."

The Hill 50 Most Beautiful list: The day after

I know I should have commented in some way about yesterday's release of Capitol Hill's beautiful people list, but I've been too busy planning my August recess vacation and haven't been keeping up with my blogging, sorry. So here is my rant...

And I thought you couldn't get any shallower than The Hill's Top 50 Most Beautiful People... but I was wrong. Patrick Gavin was on MSNBC talking about the list (what they couldn't get someone from newspaper that actually wrote it?). Here are some highlights of his interview:

"Politians are getting better looking. I mean you just look at the presidential debate going on now, they're not kidding when they say when a candidate looses weight they're thinking about jumping in, because looks really do matter. So there is some truth to this sort of shallow politics."

"In this town power is definitely an aphrodisiac."

"If you have a great job, a great business card, that does go a long way in this town."

"Just look at the field now. Everyone worries about Hillary Clinton's clothes, or, you know, Rudy Guilliani's balding, or Fred Thompson's weight, or Al Gore's weight or anybody's weight. And so because of TV, Internet, YouTube, it's such a fulltime job at this point. Abraham Lincoln got away with it; he couldn't get away with it nowadays." – Responding to a question about if looks matter for politicians during the elections

On another MSNBC show, Jeff Dufour comments on the same Hill hotties list - and Yea (as I like to call him, since Patrick is definitely more the Nea) is much more serious about the topic, here talking about why Nancy Pelosi made the list:

DUFOUR: Nancy Pelosi is, I think, she obviously gets points for the House Speaker and being in that prominent position. But Pelosi's become sort of a style icon in the way that first ladies I don't think have been.
MSNBC: I mean she's 67 years old...
DUFOUR: Sixty-seven years old
MSNBC: ...and she's considered a hottie!?!
DUFOUR: Yeah. Six grandkids. A lot of people have raised questions of plastic surgery with her. But she looks great. She wears Armani almost exclusively. And really spreads her wings as a fashion plate really more than a lot of other women in Washington feel comfortable doing.

– Hill photographers

Snow makes vision blurry

Pinstripe may not play well on TV,
but those new flat screens sure are nice.


I haven't seen that powerful of pinstripe in summer since, well, since I don't know when. It's very Godfather-esque and I'm not so sure it's the right look for Mr. Snow. Our press secretary is overpowered by the thick stripe - and though this is a photograph, I'm sure it didn't reproduce well on TV. I do have to say, however - and the real reason I even looked at this photo - those video screens in the new press room are quite nice and helpful in presenting the news. That and more comfortable seats.

No comment on the plastic, as-bright-as-the-sun bracelet or the large BandAid (poor Tony, what happened?) on his right hand.

– AP Photo/Ron Edmonds

Well, he did say no more bow ties

"I am standing in my kitchen in my boxer shorts."

- Tucker Carlson on Monday morning, during a phone
interview with MSNBC
... It's all about the visual







– ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" via palmbeachpost.com

Stealing Warhol's style: The Nina Totin' Bag

From the DCist, who saw it in The Hill:

We couldn't help but giggle when we heard an ad on WAMU today for The Nina Totin' Bag, a collectible canvas bag honoring NPR's Legal Affairs correspondent (who is certainly getting a workout lately with all the Supreme Court decisions being handed down in rapid succession), Nina Totenberg. Shouldn't it be the Nina Totenbag, then?

... it appears they have made a limited number available for sale at the NPR Shop. You know, right next to the Wait Wait Don't Tell Me Water Bottles.

To read the entire DCist blog, click here... To buy a bag, click here...

Pauley wants to take Lehrer shopping

New York Magazine's Intelligencer caught a funny fashion comment from Jane Pauley at the Children's Health Fund gala last week:

Jane Pauley may not watch Katie Couric, but "I love the fact that she gets an anchor chair. ... I'm watching The NewsHour," she says. "But Jim Lehrer - really, I would like to buy him some new ties."

This compilation of pics is a great example, especially the one on the far left. (What are those, hibiscus flowers?) To read the entire piece, click here...

'White Christian male media elites' like the Nats

I'm just not as mean as Wonkette, and even sometimes feel bad reposting some of their content, but here is a funny pic and a not-so-funny cap of Tim Russert and Co. at Tuesday night's Nats game. (And they spelled baseball wrong, not me.)

White Christian male media elites sure do love that baesball. Too bad their sporty clothes don’t like them as James Carville’s skinny ass can make a t-shirt look like a poncho, and Tim Russert needs at least an hour in the make-up chair before he stops scaring small children. Oldest fart of them all Mort Kondracke was at the game too.

(the original reader comment)
Finally got some good Nats tickets last Tuesday [5/29] and found myself seated mere feet from James Carville, super skinny and looking like he just bic’d his dome in khakis and a red t-shirt, and Tim Russert, with his giant head and matching gut. Mort Kondracke was there too, with his wife and still in a suit. Not sitting with James and Tim.

To read all of Wonkette's sightings around the city - including funnyman Steve Carrell and the usually-fashionable Anne Hathaway shooting a scene in Southeast - click here...

A few steps back for pregnant O'Donnell

Though MSNBC’s (and former Roll Caller) Norah O’Donnell and her hottie chef husband, Geoff Tracy, welcomed their twins, Grace and Henry, into the world two weeks ago, you can catch a glimpse of the very pregnant Washingtonian on the cover of the new Pregnancy magazine, which hits newsstands Tuesday.

I do have to say, though, that this dress would not have been my first (or 100th) choice for the bubbly brunette. The ruffles on the arms and edging, teamed with the thin material, make the wrap come off a bit cheap. She also looks like she has a big derriere in this pic, and we all know she doesn't, even while pregnant - it's just the stance. I do like the color and it goes well with her makeup and blue eyes, though not with her gold accessories. And her hair leaves me a tad flat.

Newseum to feature Helen Thomas' sweater

Trying to garner any public interest in the new $435 million museum set to open in October, the Newseum has previewed some of its nearly 600 items that will be on display. The Yeas & Nays boys have listed some of the very influential and historical - though definitely not stylish - wares to be featured:

• The red sweater Helen Thomas wore during a 2006 presidential press conference when President George W. Bush, after a long hiatus, finally called on the UPI columnist.
• Slippers worn by Ana Marie Cox when she edited the Web site Wonkette.com.
• The vest worn by ABC’s Bob Woodruff when he was injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2006.

Now I know I am going to spend $20 bucks to see that! (Yeah, I am not joking, when the Newseum opens it will be the most expensive museum in D.C.) What are they thinking over there?

To find out some more of the items that will be on display, click here...

Lunchtime stroll spoiled by baby blue blah

While taking a gorgeous and leisurely post-lunch stroll a few minutes ago just north of the Capitol I spotted a quite tragic sight - which admittedly there are a lot of on the Hill. I know it is recess and most people are in their most casual of work attire, but there are just some things that should never even be manufactured let alone bought and worn.

I just saw Fox News' Greta Van Susteren in front of the Phoenix Park Hotel wearing the most horrific baby blue pant suit (it might even have been a polyester blend - that's how bad it looked.) Maybe the reason she was hiding behind her shades was the fact she knew just how bad she looked. I wish I had my camera or even cell with me so I could share it with all of you (not to induce any nightmares, but just as an FYI not to wear). The thing I don't understand is why she always looks so shlumpy. When you make that much money, and probably even have your own stylist, there is simply no excuse: The bad hair. The constant frown. The sloping shoulders. And of course the wardrobe. Fox, I plead, please do something with that one.

Dressing the D.C. press corps

The Post's William Booth has some funny musings on his experiences and observations at Cannes, and he even offered up some fashion tips for Washington reporters. Though while I agree with him that there needs to be a change in the overall drab, dull and totally unimpressive wardrobe of the press corps - and France is definitely a destination to look to for fashion-forward wares - I wouldn't even joke (I am assuming he is just having one big laugh here!) about having our White House correspondents wear short shorts and high heels.

Seriously, the Washington press corps has something to learn from my Cannes colleagues.

Fashion tip? Some of the reporters here wear short shorts and high heels. Their questions get answered. Also, today we spotted a guy with a press credential around his neck, and his shirt completely unbuttoned, like Fabio. And it worked for him. Henri Behar, the French journalist and film critic who emcees the official news conferences, favors two earrings, scarves and the occasional headband. And you know what? He rules.

He actually used the phrase, "he rules..." To read the entire article, click here...