The Washington Post today, amid the flurry of stories about the Congressional changing of the guard and the demise of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, offered an interesting look at new Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. It commented not on her politics, but on her fashion.

Usually, I get a little frustrated when we analyze a female politician’s wardrobe (since that is so rarely the case for male politicians). More than a decade later, for example, I’m still smarting from what Washington’s style police (surely, an oxymoron) did to then-First Lady Hillary Clinton.

This article, however, discusses that, in Pelosi, we have a female politician who has perfected the balance of style and power and understands the importance of fashion:

Pelosi had to decide how a woman who will be second in line of succession to the presidency should look. And what she came up with is someone who wears a neutral-colored, softly tailored power suit. One that is accessorized with style rather than rote references to love of country. She looks dignified and serious. And in this case, she also happens to look quite good.

Wisely, she chose a strand of multi-color pearls to complete her look. It’s unclear whether those beauties were real or fake, but they certainly struck the right chord, making a simple statement that applies to politics, women, and jewelry: we’ve come a long way from Jackie Kennedy’s demure white classics.

JCK