No shrinking violet

Playing the dirtiest game of all, Yulia Tymoshenko has made mincemeat of the judicial system in the Ukraine. Of course, she will probably go to prison for 10 years because her rival, Ukraine President, Viktor Yanukovich,just can't stand her. She's no saint (nor should she be, I mean, she's a politician after all) but I do like her cojones in calling a spade a spade when it comes to the pure act of political revenge.

While looking like a shrinking violet (and I continue to admire the hair and careful ladylike ensembles) this woman in l'age has the courage, tenacity, stick-to-it-ivenes missing in more than one politician in the last few weeks. I do like Angela Merkel but she needs to drop kick the old boys network and start telling it like it is. After all, that's what women do after a crisis, clean up the mess. Christine Lagarde - need one say more?

That's it for politics. Back to the really important stuff in the next post - like my hair.

The suit I don't want

From shirtwaists - the perfect female equivalent to the male suit - to the male suit for women.

If I could find enough shirtwaists to fill my wardrobe, I would do it in a second. But unless Joe has another retro moment or I'm on an unbelievably luck thrift store roll, it's simply impossible. Maybe I should start an online shirtwaist store. Who's in?

Until then, I'm looking for the easy winter solution - the pant suite - forever damaged as the colourful diurnal outfit of Hilary in campaign mode. It's a tough act to follow only of course because your damned just for using the term 'pant suit'. But damn those men anyway, they've got it so easy. I don't know about your ville, but here in the great white north I swear they wear the same suits across four seasons and are deemed fashionable because they're pairing everything with brown shoes. I mean, what does it take really? It's just so unfairly effortless.

Regular readers know that I have one or 15 skirts at my disposal but I still want access to the same perfect ease men are entitled to enjoy at 6:00 am. And so I'm looking for the perfect pant suit, and the suit shown above is not it.

Why not? Jacket too short. Forget that. As soon as the jacket is short it exposes the butt and what is the next issue - panty lines. I don't even like to write it let alone say it. Why should we have to worry about panty lines? It sounds so '70s of me but really, men's butts are always covered: Men don't worry if their short lines show, they can tuck their voluminous shirts in without concern of 'lines'. Can you believe the number of factors that go into wearing pants? Will the shirt lines show? Can I even tuck a shirt into these pants? Is it pantyhose or knee-highs (the latter an absolute circulation strangler), and will my shirt collar even fit under or within the jacket collar? Why is it so complicated?

This is what I have in mind



The jacket covers the butt, the pants are loose enough to sit down for an hour or two. O.k. the waist is a little high, maybe a couple of inches lower but more midstream than low-rise. And the collar of the blouse/shirt fits in the jacket. Why do women's jackets press so at the neck? Why can't a woman's suit be more like a man's?


And what is the likelihood that I might find the perfect woman's suit? Zero?