Whether you’re interviewing for a job, running for office, or even giving a presentation in class, what you wear really does matter. For a variety of reasons, including racism, ableism, fatphobia, and other biases, this is an unfair standard and an outright burden for all people, especially women. One company, M. M. LaFleur, is offering to loan clothing to women candidates running for any political office, free of charge. And one rising star on the left shared her personal story to highlight how important an offer like this can be for budding candidates at all levels.
Here is the email sent out on Tuesday, later shared to Twitter.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave the brand’s offer a special nod in an Instagram story, as captioned and screenshot below. “When I was running for office (even now!),” Ocasio-Cortez wrote, “accessing clothing for the job was a big challenge both logistically and financially. As a candidate, a large part of asking people to vote for you is helping them visualize you on the job. As a member, that professionalism helps you challenge subconscious bias.
”When I [was] first elected, I needed an entirely new wardrobe for my new job. I had NO clothes to prepare me for Congress, and if it wasn’t for some hand me downs from friends before I was sworn in I don’t even know what I would have done. So shout out to anyone helping, and if you know someone running ask them if they want an old blazer or dress! :)”
Here is a screenshot of that post (as it’s an Instagram story, these sorts of posts tend to auto-delete within 24 hours of being shared).
Of course, clothing is not the beginning and end of running for office. The company seems to get that, as it reportedly wrote in an email then posted to Twitter: “We never purport that clothes help move the needle on female representation, but we want to do our part to make things a tiny bit easier.”
The necessity of a professional wardrobe can be a burden for anyone, but people of color (and especially black Americans), people with disabilities, and transgender women may face particular pressure due to stigma and bias. If people are already prejudiced against you being a “good fit” for a job because of your gender identity or race, for example, they may be more likely to critique or blame your apparel as a rationale that you aren’t “professional” or “right” for the work environment. It’s all coded discrimination.
The flip side, as Ocasio-Cortez experienced herself, is that critics may also throw fire in the other direction. If your clothes are perceived as too nice, expensive, or stylish, people might accuse one of being wasteful or status-seeking. A conservative outlet briefly went viral for trying to call out Ocasio-Cortez over spending $300 on a haircut, which is actually pretty low in a lot of cities. She was similarly flamed for wearing an expensive suit for a photoshoot. All of these jabs were likely intended to paint the congresswoman as inauthentic in her fight for the working class.
Interested woman candidates can email readytorun@mmlafleur.com with a note about the office they’re running for, their credentials, name, and location.