Abstract

Do left-wing and right-wing women politicians use fashion differently? If they do, what exactly are these differences? Using the available literature and printed and digital primary sources, I analyze the case of Spain. This study shows that women ministers from the left and right relate to fashion in different ways. Women ministers from the right use more elements of fashion and personal appearance associated with conventional and traditional styles (e.g., skirts or dresses). Women ministers from the left more often wear purple clothes on March 8th (International Women’s Day) to show support for the women’s movement. However, other differences are striking and unexpected. In 2004, the eight women ministers from the left-wing cabinet headed by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero posed for Vogue magazine in high-couture costumes, creating a high-voltage polemic. Thus, in Western countries, fashion is a tool used by women politicians to differentiate themselves along ideological lines. In this way, fashion is a device to mark that left and right are still relevant political cleavages. Women also use fashion to convey messages of proximity to specific social movements. In this way, fashion is used to show that politics extends beyond formal institutions and encompasses actors of society.