Hillary Clinton Wears Armani Jacket During Inequality Speech-Mostly Truth!
Summary of eRumor:
Social media has been abuzz with reports that Hillary Clinton wore a $12,000 Giorgio Armani jacket while delivering a speech on income inequality.
The Truth:
Claims that Hillary Clinton wore a $12,000 Armani jacket during a speech that touched on income inequality are mostly true.
Controversy over Hillary’s wardrobe spread across social media in June after the New York Post published a report on her “designer wardrobe.” The report opened talking about a primary victory speech that Hillary delivered in April wearing the now infamous Armani jacket:
Hillary Clinton’s New York primary victory speech in April focused on topics including income inequality, job creation and helping people secure their retirement. It was a clear attempt to position herself as an everywoman.
But an everywoman she is not — she gave the speech in a $12,495 Giorgio Armani tweed jacket.
Hillary Clinton wore the Armani jacket during a speech she delivered after winning the New York primary on April 20th. And it’s true that she touched on the impact of the Great Recession and income inequality in her speech, according to a transcript:
…America is a problem-solving nation. And in this campaign, we are setting bold progressive goals backed up by real plans that will improve lives, creating more good jobs that provide dignity and pride in a middle class life, raising wages and reducing inequality, making sure all our kids get a good education no matter what zip code they live in, building ladders of opportunity and empowerment so all of our people can go as far as their hard work and talent will take them.
But did the jacket actually cost $12,000?
That’s where claims about Hillary’s designer wardrobe get a little fuzzy. First, the “Coat in Napa Lambskin” that Hillary wore was “marked down” on the Giorgio Armani website in June from $12,495 to $7,497. It’s not clear how much the jacket cost when Hillary wore it in April. It’s also not clear if Hillary was given the coat at an even deeper discount. In short, there’s no way of knowing how much (or if) Hillary paid for it.
Still, regardless of whether the jacket cost $7,000 or $12,000, the irony of the situation rings true: Hillary wore a very expensive jacket while giving a speech in which she empathized with people who are “hurting” financially and referenced income inequality.
But this isn’t the first time a political figure’s designer wardrobe has grabbed headlines. Sarah Palin and Michelle Obama have both been criticized for their expensive taste in clothes on the campaign trail in the past.
The wardrobe of female political figures has been a hot topic of conversation for years. New York Daily News reports that Mary Todd Lincoln “racked up tens of thousands of dollars in clothing bills and considered selling manure from White House grounds to pay them off.” Laura Bush, meanwhile, wrote that she was “amazed by the sheer number of designer clothes that I was expected to buy” as first lady.
And some people (correctly) point out that it always seems to be female political figures’ wardrobes that draw fire, even though men can rack up hefty bills, too. Donald Trump, for example, reportedly wears $7,000 Italian suites. That price doesn’t include ties, undershirts and shoes, either.
But in the end, we’re calling this one “mostly truth” because Hillary wore an Armani jacket valued at $7,000-$12,000 during a speech in which she referenced income inequality.