The Hip Housewife talks politics and fashion

I've been enjoying the return of the retro look, as you would assume.  (don't worry, I don't think you made an ass out of u and me)   I think designers are, number one, doing the opposite of what we had in the last decade.  A parade of celebrities flashing the cootchie-snorcher and nip slipping is being countered with longer skirts with Spanx underneath.  And the influence of Mad Men has been huge. 

What follows is my opinion:  I think Mad Men was, and is, a big success because it's set in a time when gender and race roles were well defined.  Everyone knew where they were supposed to be and what they were supposed to be doing.  If you were going to break those rules, you either did it behind closed doors or you put forward a charade to cover it up. 

The world changed in a big way in 2008.  A brown person took over as the leader of the United States of America.  We finally put our money where our mouth was.  And people got frightened.  After eight years of the oil-rich, good ol' boy, who maintained the Republican stereotype, a man was elected into office whose actions couldn't necessarily be predicted.

He immediately played hard-ball politics by nominating an Hispanic woman to the Supreme Court. Anyone who opposed her was not only sexist but racist.  That was followed up by a Jewish woman nominee.  Opposition?  Anti-Semetic. 

At least with W, you had a good idea of what he'd do next.  His wife, the First Lady, kept her opinion to herself and smiled, the antithesis of Hilary Clinton. 

God was in his Heaven and everyone was in their proper place. 

Now, our country is still shaken up from the lending fiasco, people are giving up the American Dream and the glimmer of a more socialist society is starting to appear.  With all this unstable shifting around, a show where men are men and women are at home helps comfort those who are frightened.  That was a time when values mattered.  Why not show support of a time when America was exactly what it should be?  Women are putting supportive undergarments back on.  They're looking womanly while being covered up. 

Not just a fashion statement, but a political one. 

Perhaps I'm the only one to combine politics and fashion without a t-shirt, but I'll stand by my idea in floral, peep-toe wedgies.  Not because I'm frightened, on the contrary, I'm so excited about what our country could become I just feel like getting dressed up!

Amanda's beauty tip of the day:  If you are going to try the retro look, a powder finish on your face is essential.  A liquid to powder foundation or just powder  will work.