Last week, Amal Clooney and the legal team got their client out of jail. The client? The Maldives’ former president, Mohamed Nasheed. Nasheed was released after Amal and her co-counsel traveled to Washington DC for a series of meetings and interviews which significantly raised the profile of Nasheed’s case. Technically, Nasheed was released to seek medical treatment in the UK, although I think now that Nasheed is on British soil, he will never be forced into going back to the Maldives. He can choose to live a life of exile in Europe, or return to the Maldives at some point and possibly go back to jail.
After Nasheed was released and flown to the UK, he and his lawyers traveled to 10 Downing Street to meet with David Cameron. Those are the photos of Amal in the black coat. She and her co-counsels were also doing a press conference today in London – those are the photos of Amal in the dark red suit. You can read more about what happens now with Nasheed’s case and all of that here.
Since we’re a gossip blog and not a legal blog, I only really care about the fashion. As soon as Amal stepped outside of 10 Downing, people were obsessed with her coat. What is this coat?!? Look at those gold “buttons” – that’s a hand, a cat’s face and a lobster. Did she buy the coat like that? Did she buy a simple black coat and have those doorknockers sewn on? WTF? I do like her red suit though – very pretty.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Pacific Coast News.
Those buttons are ridiculous.
The glamour hair seems a bit ott for a work meeting as well.
Yes for a woman to be taken seriously she must downplay her femininity. Snort.
You’re right, of course, good point. In looking again, I guess what was bothering me was the straggly ends, which look just like my elementary school age kid’s hair. So it looks child-like to me, while also obviously being “done” up top. Over-analyzing something irrelevant? Sure.
Except for the cat button. The cat button rocks! 😄
Cat button? Not demon button? Okay, but those buttons still look like they’d stalk Clooney’s pet pigs at night.
They’re all awesome, ESPECIALLY the cat button.
RE: Amal Hair Watch 2016
Does her hair look noticeably thinner and less full in the red suit pics? Extensions or clip-ins?
Yep, I’m rooting for all the buttons. I love em. But Cat Button for the win.
I love the buttons. I’m not a fan of ‘professional looking’ clothes. Good for her for bringing some personality into an otherwise boring black jacket.
@Kitten: I noticed that her hair was less full too.
I think Amal’s styling just fell. She absolutely got a blow out engagement time. Extensions… i’m on the fence. Maybe, maybe not, but if so certainly not often.
A day of running fingers through, smoothing down after the wind tosses it. That might be the culprit here.
I just remember my mom telling me that I was such a pretty girl so why cover it up by lettimg my hair fall in fronte of my face?!?! I will always attribute confidence to a woman who puts her face front and center
Todd Oldham, 1990.
Fug then, fugger now.
I almost never read comments on Amal posts because the inevitable mean girl rip her to shreds thing just doesn’t appeal. But I knew someone would have the ID on the coat. Thanks!
I love Oldham, but I’m not sure this is where to wear the “Alice in Wonderland” coat.
The hand button looks like it’s trying to get to second base.
HAHAHA
I liked the blue bag that the other counsel member has. That will carry allllll my workday crap.
Yes me too, any ID on that bag?
That caught my eye too, Tiff. Loooove a gorgeous handbag. Am carrying a beautiful blackberry coloured one right now. Mmmm…the perfect Christmas gift IMO.
I don’t know. Isn’t the robin egg’s blue on the bag kind of “showy” for a meeting with the PM? Is this woman trying to call attention to herself for the photogs “Notice me and my fabulous bag!” She should have followed Amal’s lead with a conservative black bag. Why call attention to your fashion when you are a professional? And what is with her really pretty, full hair? Sorry but this woman is out of place with that hair and that bag…
Yup – the above is sarcasm.
I love the bag too and think both women look great.
Can we talk about the men in the photo (because they are the ones somewhat lacking IMO)? Look at the hem of the pants on the man standing at the back of the group. Both he and the gentleman to the left should have polished their shoes before meeting with the PM.
The guys also need to get their hands out of their pockets and stand up straight.
Pretty sure that ‘woman’ is Nasheed’s wife
Also the bag is by Anya Hindmarch.
I want to be as successful as her so bad. She does so much ugh ugh ugh.
Work your butt off, shake a lot of hands, and keep your eyes on the prize. Anything’s possible 🙂
Get listed in the sexiest barristers list. And then hang out at a lot of HW parties and make sure you put the word out that you want to marry George Clooney II.
Coat seems out of place if you are working and meeting the Prime Minster. Wear it to the office where you know you will take it off but at a business meeting outside of the office? Nah.
How does it seem out of place? It’s a basic but high quality black coat with a little eccentric detail. Totally appropriate and far from the most eccentric outfit the PM will encounter in an average day.
^^^ M.F.A.
Totally agree + it’s hideous. Just because they make it doesn’t mean one has to where it.
The buttons ruin it for me. It could have worked otherwise.
The buttons ruin it for me, too…just not my style; however, after seeing how thin her legs are as she is getting out of the car and also standing for the photo, I feel better now. My legs are well shaped, but have always been thin and I’ve always wanted them to be thicker….but after seeing Amal’s legs, and even Angelina Jolie’s legs, I don’t feel so bad…mine look just about the same. Maybe not so bad after all?
I’m sure junior barristers up and down the land will be thrilled to hear they can now get personal audiences with the Prime Minister at No. 10, complete with cameras there to record the momentous event.
It’s fun but not for a professional setting.
Looks daft and affected.
Actually, I have seen those type of ornamental buttons in online catalogs. You can put them over your old buttons to spruce up.a coat or jacket. A little too much for me, but weird is her taste in clothes.
Apparently the real buttons are quite normal black ones. Those look like brooches to me. Not a fan.
Finally somebody gets it! The coat already HAS black buttons. These are just showy and weird. The hand is a variation of the hamsa (open right hand).
“In the Islamic faith, it symbolizes as The Hand of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Mohammed. The hamsa hand sometimes includes an evil eye symbol, which is thought to protect against the evil eye.”
PS below someone mentions “queen’s hand” which I didn’t know anything about but sounds right.
No junior barrister in the UK would get a public press call/meeting with David Cameron even on this case unless she was married to George Clooney. Tories and money. And that coat is completely inappropriate for the meeting; she knew it would get press attention. Her simpering smiles betray her love of the limelight. Another boring, banal trophy wife who married a boring, banal, over-the-hill rich guy who knows the right people. Eat the rich.
A distinguished, respected lawyer is hardly a trophy wife. Why so salty?
Is she distinguished? She’s simply high profile. And yes, she is a trophy wife. Look at Clooney’s history. She’s working it, good for her, but the p.r. is just too obvious for someone truly involved in serious legal work. The meeting with Cameron is part of that. Just calling it as I see it and see her and the Hollywood/Clooney machine. These are smart people working the press for their own ends. It’s the way the world works. I don’t have to like it.
I’m genuinely curious – what do Celebitches wear to work (especially those in conservative fields like law or finance) and how do you wear your hair? I’ve worked as executive assistants at major corporations, law offices, nonprofits (social justice) and music. As I’ve gotten older and more established, I can “get away” with more quirky looks and people are more casual these days anyways. Her hair & buttons/brooches look fine to me – and I’ve worked in offices where black stockings (as opposed to “nude”) were considered a no-no.
Business casual where I work. There is a lot of walking but no tennis shoes. Other than that no real restrictions as far as colors and accessories go.
I’m a pharmaceutical rep. As with most other industries, the dress code has relaxed over the years. I wear dresses and smart pants outfits but rarely if ever see the old school matched suit anymore. The men are generally even more casual.
My uniform (scrubs) mostly, but when there is to be a meeting or consultation needed I dress well. Low heels, usually black pointed toe. Stockings always. Tailored trousers (black,blue, gray, blended). nice blouse. Hair up or atleast pulled back if worn down. All seperate pieces that go well together. The blouse is ofcourse where you add the color or pattern.
It’s all about looking professional and respectful. Nothing very distracting as the subject often discussed is not pleasant.
I don’t get the bright color suits. It’s grabbing for attention imo.
Mainly academic now, and from home quite a bit (so relaxed more), and when out and about, professionally, I tailor to presentable for time, place, occasion, and purpose. I’ve done time in law based/political trenches, and trenches literally sometimes, too so I know the parameters; some of which are more relaxed but still parameters exist. I think “purpose” may be the most relevant here, btw.
imo, Amal Clooney dresses to, what she believes to, impress (and by design to make for newsprint and attention) resulting in missing the right tone and mark all too often. There’s taking due respect in your appearance and then there’s overworked and showy for showy sake.
She looks good in red, fine, but it’s all a bit too deliberate and couture curated to seem anything more than costuming for an appearance rather than a woman working for real. Also, the time involved on creating such indicates skewed priorities for a working day.
Nancy Pelosi is fond of color often in clothes and big jewelry and did her job just fine and was taken very seriously whatever she was wearing. Hillary Clinton has been in some very bright colors, not even deeper jewel tone like what Amal has on.
Business casual where I work also, but I’m a little bit up a notch. I usually wear a knee length dress, cardigan, black tights, heels and my long hair down. I look more polished than most people at work but I definitely keep my feminine flair like Ms. Clooney over here.
Oh, and I work in finance.
I am a lawyer, but since my practice area is immigration law, I do not have to dress nearly as conservatively as women lawyers in other fields. I can wear pastels, bright colours, and pantsuits/jacket-pants combos to USCIS interviews and immigration court. I almost never wear pantyhose or tights unless it is a rare cold day here in Houston. In fact, the only time I really dress like a stereotypical lawyer (dark skirt suit, nude hose, tailored blouse, dark leather briefcase) is when I must go to federal court.
The problem I have with Amal is that too often the fashion wears her – not the other way around. Instead of letting her work and track record speak for itself, she always seems to wear something to draw eyes to her looks or body, particularly in work situations where she simply should not be dressing for attention. Notice the way everyone else is dressed in the group photo above: dark, tailored, sensible suits with only their accessories (neckties, bags) adding a pop of colour or interest to their outfits. Amal though just had to wear a coat with gaudy, oversized, mismatched gold buttons, and whatever she is wearing underneath is terribly short since the coat completely covers the hemline. To me, it looks out of place and try hard. And yes, that hand button is just begging people to look at her chest instead of her face!
Now mind you, I do not think the performance of a lawyer – male or female – should be judged solely by how they dress. As a baby lawyer I strongly resented the “women’s columns” in various legal publications that invariably instructed us silly ladies on how not to make fools of ourselves trying to be fashionable in the workplace and to remember that courts and law offices were places of SERIOUS BUSINESS and men should not be distracted by frippery. Fortunately, as more women have joined the legal profession, these articles have largely disappeared. But as I have grown older, I have come to realize that they were not really wrong: one’s appearance DOES matter. Clothes and accessories CAN speak to people and cause desirable (or undesirable) reactions. No one will ever fault a female lawyer for looking too formal and conservative, but people will judge her if they think she is overly focused on makeup, hair, or clothes instead of her cases. Amal does not appear to have learned this lesson very well, which may explain why she gets a lot of criticism here and on other sites.
I have noticed that there is a “look” specific to female attorneys from California who do reality-law TV shows. One example is Crime Watch Daily. These gals all have long BIG hair and wear very form fitting clothing( I am guessing the push-up bra is a favorite based on their silhouette)-often in bright colors. They also appear heavily made up. I have been wondering if this is a California look…the attorneys I see in the Midwest do not dress this way professionally. My point is, maybe this is the look Amal is going for…
I am a partner in City law firm (M&A) and am pretty casual – always dresses, suits virtually never – however I almost wear black / print with black base (black looks a bit less casual than colours I think). Sometimes wear heels (if “big meeting”) but usually black flats (dodgy knees). Long blonde hair always down. So all up not very “corporate” but have a thing about shoes (must be clean and polished) and nails (ditto).
Since you are a lawyer in London, I would be curious to know if you had heard of Amal prior to when she started dating Clooney.
i’m a lawyer and now work in govt where it’s casual, but when at a firm -toward the end- also dressed fairly casually. it got to the point where i was wearing casual slacks (sometimes even cargo pants) with a sweater and flat walking shoes at work, if i didn’t have clients or meetings. i sometimes was embarrassed at my casual dress, but often was too tired to care.
She looks nice. @Lot They look like brooches to me as well. I like them.
Wish all the buttons were lobsters, the hand and the cat are throwing off the look!
LOL
This
I don’t really get the fuss.
Each to his own, I guess.
Love it! Wish I could own it, I love it when she does quirky.
I would like it if it only had lobster buttons.
The hand could be the Hand of God?
And if Clooney decided to get into politics to this extent, then George is going to run for Governor of NYS someday, I bet.
I got major hair envy and I would have loved the coat more if all the buttons had been lobster. I like that she still has glimpses of her quirky style after getting a stylist.
Love that coat!
I dunno….shes lookin’ a little rough to me. Hair seems dry and/or partially fake, kinda baggy under the eyes….makes me think she’s got a poor or too low-cal diet. That shiz can wreck a girl over time. And I can’t with the buttons. Not appropriate for the outfit or the occasion.
Ugh can we stop with the bullshit about her hair. She’s an Arab, It is more common to find an Arab with long, lush, thick, dark hair than without.
Agree, however, her hair does not look lush or thick; it’s a mess. When she first started dating GC, I thought she was so beautiful. Not anymore; she’s really quite homely, way too thin & unhealthy looking. Maybe why her hair is so awful
I like the coat-the pins make what is an otherwise ordinary piece interesting. The magenta suit is IMO too much (attention-getting) for the occasion. Fashion aside, it appears there is a bit of a kerfuffle between Doughty Street Chambers and another law firm Omnia regarding representation of Mohamed Nasheed per a piece in today’s (UK) Huffington Post:
“Amal Clooney’s Client And Colleagues Slam Cherie Blair’s Support Of Maldives Government, Question Her ‘Motivation'”
All kitty cat buttons would be great !
I like the buttons and she’s dressed appropriately for once. She’s also shrinking like crazy. So thin!
Um, very British buttons actually.
Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass:
Lobster
Queen’s Hand
Cheshire Cat.
Can I just say fug!!!! Would be better with all lobster or hand of god or demon cat buttons. One of each seems a bit much.
Love the buttons! I hope stockings are not making a comeback.
I like them but they’re more like brooches, the buttons seem to be on the other side?