Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the Optics of Relatable Style

But in a West Wing vocally obsessed by image and appearance, the mien is the message. Or something like that. Recall President Trump’s lauding of his generals as straight out of “central casting”; his reported early scolding of Mr. Spicer for his rumpled appearance; the rumor that he had declared that the women on his staff should “dress like women”; the fact that one of the first things he said to Brigitte Macron during his Bastille Day visit was: “You’re in such good shape. She’s in such good physical shape. Beautiful.”

This is true especially in a visual age, and for an administration schooled in the crucible of reality television, where what you wear and how you look play a leading role. Especially when Ms. Sanders is only the third woman to ever hold the post of press secretary and, as she often mentions in her briefings, the first mother. Especially when she is charged with representing an administration in which the attitude toward gender has been, let us say, a somewhat contentious and much discussed issue.

.. Dana Perino, President George W. Bush’s last press secretary and now a Fox host, once told Elle magazine: “When I got the job as the press secretary, one of my first thoughts was, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to wear?’ People really focus on that.” Externally and, apparently, internally.

.. That may not seem like a big thing, but abandoning the jacket, even in 2017, is a striking choice on a professional podium, one that aligns Ms. Sanders more with the sartorial camp of Ivanka Trump and Kellyanne Conway than with her predecessors: Dee Dee Myers, a press secretary during the Clinton administration who was known for her miniskirts and bright jackets, and Ms. Perino, who tended toward Chanel-esque suiting

.. The net effect is femininity that hasn’t been stiletto-weaponized or armored up as much as turned into an access point: No matter her words, they are framed by a style steeped in cheerful Hallmark history. That is bound to inform how they are received. If much of the administration still channels Wall Street (the Oliver Stone version), Ms. Sanders offers visual reference points of Main Street (the Fox version).

Jeans Aren’t Allowed at School—Unless You Pay

“Jeans Day” is a new kind of school fundraiser across the country, even though it subverts the purpose of a uniform

 School leaders praise jeans day as being a consistent moneymaker with no overhead or inventory. It’s often used to pay for extras not covered in tight budgets.“We gave some money to the band department, helped with our playground. We do a lot,” said Katharine Irvine, the second vice president of Imagine’s parent-teacher organization. To wear jeans at the school on Fridays, students must be members of the Jeans Day Club, which costs $25 per student or $35 per family to join.

.. Some educators say the fundraiser contradicts the premise of requiring uniforms—to eliminate bullying, improve discipline, enhance school pride and keep students focused on education instead of clothing.

 “If the whole reason you adopted a uniform policy is that you believe in clothing not being distracting, then why are you undermining your own ideas you set forth for having uniforms anyway?” said Ashlyn Aiko Nelson, associate professor at Indiana University, who has researched fundraisers.

Workers endured long hours, low pay at Chinese factory used by Ivanka Trump’s clothing-maker

Workers at a factory in China used by the company that makes clothing for Ivanka Trump’s fashion line and other brands worked nearly 60 hours a week to earn wages of little more than $62 a week, according to a factory audit released Monday.

.. contractor, G-III Apparel Group, which has held the exclusive license to make the Ivanka Trump brand’s $158 dresses, $79 blouses

.. Its release also comes as the president’s daughter has sought to cast herself as both a champion of workplace issues and a defender of her father’s “buy American, hire American” agenda. Trump, whose book “Women Who Work” debuts next week, was in Germany on Tuesday for public discussions about global entre­pre­neur­ship and empowerment.

.. Chinese factories are by far the dominant suppliers for Ivanka clothes, though G-III also works with manufacturers across Vietnam, Bangladesh and South America. G-III factories overseas have shipped more than 110 tons of Ivanka-brand blouses, skirts, dresses and other garments to the United States since October, shipping data shows.

.. The clothing line licensed by President Trump’s private business is also almost entirely made in foreign factories.

.. The factory’s workers made between 1,879 and 2,088 yuan a month, or roughly $255 to $283, which would be below minimum wage in some parts of China.

.. Fewer than a third of the factory’s workers were offered legally mandated coverage under China’s “social insurance” benefits, including a pension and medical, maternity, unemployment and work-related injury insurance, inspectors found.

.. But it did not commit to increasing worker pay and at times pushed back against recommendations that could improve workplace safety.

.. sales of Trump’s brand have boomed in the months since her father began his pursuit of the White House. Net sales for her clothing collection soared by $17.9 million in the year that ended Jan. 31, G-III data shows.