spot-on. women today (and in recent decades) face a similar situation as women did in the 1920s. the fashion calls for a boxy, lean shape -- but if you don't have that shape, more fabric and less fitted tailoring is needed to try to conform to that shape.

twin sets (sweater sets) of the '50s had a resurgence in the 1990s (tv example -- debra / patricia heaton wore almost nothing else for many seasons of "everybody loves raymond"). my favorite callback of the '90s was mens suits inspired by 1930s suits. so elegant. one of my favorite mens styles.

really excellent observations (and recollections). something that is probably overlooked (except by those who wore them) are all the foundation garments needed to achieve these looks. the '50s crinolines remind me of the underlayers worn by ladies from the renaissance to the 20th century.

apologies -- just looked up / watched this scene... violet actually said (looking through a glass office wall at judy bernly arriving at personnel and waving) "is that her? we're going to need a special locker for the hat."

apologies, i saw "norma kamali" and kind of blipped over the rest. i did not fully capture that you wore it to your uncle's funeral. sincere condolences for your loss.

ah! kamali was a big splash name at the time! i rather like shoulder pads. opportunity for more dramatic and elegant silhouettes. also a throwback to the 1940s. is it a coincidence that women's shoulder lines got bigger in the '40s when women were stepping into jobs vacated by men in wwii?

sleeve caps are also seen today (alexander mcqueen likes them). the red outfit also has the classic '80s peplum. in both '80s outfits you can see much stronger references to mens suits than in the '70s. tracks with women wishing to claim more respect at the office, but not necessarily getting it.

although these are still alexis outfits, they are more typical of what the average woman would wear to the office (nolan miller aside). the red one has small shoulder caps, a hallmark of victorian / edwardian sleeves (these eras were a major fashion callback in the 1980s -- see jessica mcclintock).

most women did not wear hats to the office at this time. honorable mention to jane fonda / judy bernly in 1980's "9 to 5," who did (on her first day at the office) -- and forced lily tomlin / violet newstead to comment that they were going to have to find a locker for that hat.

now that we've chatted with mary, let's ring up alexis. nolan miller had a worthy muse in joan collins. love the flipping of the white / black. take a look at how, when alexis sits, the white portion of the jacket becomes a ripple. a good designer takes motion / position into account.

both the "suit-y" outfits have low-key structure, and non-harsh silhouettes. in the 1970s, there were certainly many, many options for womens suits, but it was also very, very common for women to chose knitwear and separates (part of a general '70s trend towards leisurewear, athletic wear).

these are more "suit-y." the left is (from what i remember -- tried searching for a full-length photo, but was unsuccessful) akin to a shirt-dress (a callback to a man's shirt). the right is more "suit-y" (one of my favorite mary outfits, and she's also sporting one of my favorite mary pins).

more mary in knitwear (these are actually two different outfits). the show used a lot of outfits from evan-picone (even though actual working women might not have had a closetful of that particular label). these are neutral outfits, even if we are more used to see mary in more "vocal" colors.

knitwear (for the office) was very common (see mary on the left, in a cardigan layered over separates). soft, often undefined shapes. when the outfit was more structured (right), it was not necessarily aping a man's suit (although of course it had references).

to understand why '80s womens fashion was so, one needs to look at what preceded it. fashion is always partly reaction. what preceded shoulder pads was a lot of what you'd see mary richards wear. (i tried selecting items she actually was seen wearing at the office.)

lastly, there is a difference between being on trend and wearing something flattering ('tho there can be confluence). folks would be better served to know their body shapes and what is flattering to +them+, rather than chasing a look. clothing is always communication. might as well own one's voice.

there's a difference between what is on trend and what is personally flattering. women with boxy, tomboy-ish figures worked well with the new dropped waist and loose structure of the 1920s. more zaftig figures were out of luck. victorian and edwardian women had layering to achieve the right shape.

it's okay to have favorites, and anti-favorites. and personal tastes can change as well (through my clothing research and collecting, i'm much more admiring of eras and styles for which i did not have much patience for prior).

when one lives through a fashion era, it's sometimes harder to appreciate its merits. don't think i'll ever make peace with today's uber-tight, thin-flanged "knockwurst" mens suit trend, but that trend is also probably impacted by wearers trying to flaunt gym-bodies via tight fits.

my research and collecting has been primarily on female fashions. i admire the '80s for boldness, exuberant embrace of bold color, and athleticism. love watching vintage tv for historical fashion and decor (the bob newhart show, mission impossible, rockford files, and columbo are great).

am a long time collector of historical clothing (1790s thru present). every decade has its unusual accents. nostalgia and anti-nostalgia in any current timeframe colors opinion of them. the '80s were pretty spectacular for boldness (neon colors, geometric silhouettes, and -- yes -- shoulder pads).

thank you kindly (it seems there are trumpian lessons there as well, in understanding our electorate). are there books you would recommend that successfully capture the soviets' (mis)understanding at that time? thank you in advance.

polite question -- why were the soviets surprised at reagan's reelection?

there was a multi-panel political cartoon where someone was interacting with carter. in each frame carter was expressing wonder: "gee, inflation's up to 8%," "wow, look at those gas prices rise," etc. he was seen as ineffectual and paralytic. iran hostage crisis seemed to confirm perceptions.

one of the most misunderstood aspects of jonestown is that it was also murders (vs. suicides, which it also was). jones had armed thugs constantly monitoring the compound, wouldn't let people leave. intensified as the final day approached. his thugs forced people to consume poison at gunpoint.

until we address psychopathy on the societal level (which includes identification and corrective measures) they will continue to upend the hard-won achievements of communities and nations. the amount of damage they do is disproportionate to the percentage of the population.

i think the primary core of authoritarians is psychopathy (or anti-social personality disorder, if you please). lack of empathy, need for control, narcissism, sadism -- misogyny and other "isms" are the predictable downstream from this core.

i saw an ad for -- ack -- "the real housewives of rhode island," which looks like it's partially filmed in newport. felt obligated to pass along condolences, but also thank you for consistently providing quality counter-programming. thank you for providing cogent, clear analysis and commentary.

was it odd that the monitoring team only chose to deploy one (or was it two) intercept devices at the incoming entity? per the movie, they have a success rate of 50%, and they had very limited supply.