Haley's chic-but-not-so-pretty dress may have been exactly what she had in mind

Apparently it wasn't just Nikki Haley's promise after the New Hampshire Republican primary that she would keep fighting that got under Donald J. Trump's skin; they were her clothes too.

Or rather, her “costume that probably wasn't that fancy,” like the former president said it. And while he often tends to exaggerate, in the case of the clothes Ms. Haley wore on Tuesday night, Trump's description turned out to be pretty much accurate.

The dress was indeed chic, but not that luxurious. It appears to be from the Teri Jon brand, a New York line that Ms. Haley has long favored. She carried Teri Jon when she was still ambassador to the UN in 2018, op Fox news in 2022, and for her daughter's wedding in 2023.

Teri Jon was founded by a woman named Rickie Freeman and is carried in department stores across the country such as Saks and Neiman Marcus. The dress Mrs. Haley wore in New Hampshire retails for $580, which is expensive but not too expensive. The knee-length, blue floral jacquard with a slightly A-line skirt and flared sleeves, the cut vaguely resembles some sort of 1950s hostess style; it looks conservative, but not too conservative.

Exactly the kind of style that, for example, could appeal to Republicans with a yen for the past. Teri Jon describes their customers as “professionals. Mothers. Daughters. World travelers. Homemakers. Sisters. Partygoers.”

And while Mr. Trump clearly intended his sartorial criticism as a barb against Ms. Haley — perhaps an implication that he knows luxury (or his wife, Melania, does) and his rival does not — the dress was in fact a pretty effective representation. of how Ms. Haley has used her image as part of her campaign strategy.

That starts with the fact that she even wore a dress during her speech, instead of, say, the standard pantsuit for a female politician or even the Ralph Lauren sweater with the American flag that she wore along the way.

Gender, especially as expressed through clothing, has been a part of Ms. Haley's political platform since she announced her candidacy for president, whether it be her high heels, which she has referenced for years in stump speeches (and which she used in her name indicated). the third Republican primary debate) or her penchant for quoting so-called Thatcherisms (from conservative former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher) such as “If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman. ''

And in the semiology of clothing, a dress often suggests 'woman'. Mr Trump in particular should understand the subliminal message. After all, he is the man who, as president, announced that the women in his administration should “dress like women.”

Ms. Haley simply turned the suggestion to her own advantage. That suggests there will be more clothing salvos as the race moves on to South Carolina.