"Girlfriends of the Court"

Archive for the ‘fashion’ Category

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Lawyers’ Lingerie League: Clothing as Control?

In Career, fashion, media, shoes, women on June 13, 2012 at 8:59 am
Cassie McRichie - page 8.jpeg

Single-sculler Cassie McRichie, founder of the Albert Park Lake women’s rowing club, wasn’t troubled by an overly sexualised costume in 1900.

The last couple of weeks has seen the Lingerie Football League (‘LFL’) in the news.  If you’re uncertain about what this entails, it is ‘Hot babes in lingerie playing footy!’ according to the Triple M website promoting it. (See also a spectator’s view here.)

Some commentators have decried the so-called sport as sexist, while others claim that this is snobbery.

So is it sexist?  If so, why?  Are there implications for women more broadly?

 

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Do Clothes Make the (Wo)Man?

In Career, fashion, Guest Post, legal education, shoes, women on April 29, 2012 at 10:32 am
fashion, law, blog

Are we just reproducing the dominant paradigm?     *Mattel

The Culture of Professional Dressing 

There’s been a lot of talk on this blog here and here amongst others, of women’s (and some men’s) experiences as legal practitioners, in terms of what to wear.  We could ask why these posts are so popular with readers.  Is it because women love clothes?  (I mean – you know what women are like, right?)  Perhaps.  However I have another theory.

It’s about culture – in particular, the dominant culture of the law. Read on. Read the rest of this entry »

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The law and … tights

In Barristers, fashion, Stockings, women on February 22, 2012 at 8:53 am

Is it time to toss the tights?

I was sorting through a box of materials the other day when I came across a picture of the solicitor Sue MacGregor in polka dot tights. Many of you will recall that in 1993, Justice Smithers castigated Ms MacGregor for coming to court in polka-dot stockings and a suit with a skirt that finished above the knee. For a feisty response, see Magistrate Jennifer Coate’s protest. [Read on] Read the rest of this entry »

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‘I Know What Boys Like’: What Women Wear

In fashion, media, Photography, women on February 12, 2012 at 7:06 pm

It's all in the attitude, isn't it?

What women dare wear:

An op-ed over the weekend by Bettina Arndt has re-opened the debate about what women wear – in particular her statement that: ‘Everywhere you look, women are stepping out dressed provocatively, but bristling if the wrong man shows he enjoys the display.’

This appeared not long after the national press focused on the physical appearance of the lawyer for Vincenzo Focarelli, the leader of a bikie gang. Lawyer Stacey Carter was compared with ‘Melbourne Underbelly lawyer Zara Garde-Wilson’ and the newspaper report I read showed photos of the two (though online shows only Ms Carter).  A lot in the article turned on establishing Ms Carter’s credibility – apparently despite her attractive appearance:

(read on)

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