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Mrs. America: Come For The Feminism, Stay For The Fashion

From its stomping opening credits and all-star cast to the pithy one-liners and slamming disco-infused soundtrack, Mrs. America is a slick and spirited delight. The nine-part series charts the thorny battle during the 1970s to pass the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the US Constitution, introducing us to the second-wave feminists fighting for progress and the socially mobilised Christian conservative housewives trying to stop them. Co-created by one of Mad Men’s writers, it’s aesthetically stunning and sparkling with standout performances from Cate Blanchett, Uzo Aduba, Sarah Paulson, Tracey Ullman and Niecy Nash. By the end of the series we’ve learned far more about key figures in the women’s liberation movement (and their opponents) than we do in most mainstream retellings.

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Though sometimes veering into the territory of pitching women against women, this is far from a two-party battle: as episode nine draws to a close we see how, in devastating and subtle ways, the betrayal ultimately comes from the men in power. As Rose Byrne’s Gloria Steinem says: “They finally found a smokescreen for their own chauvinism: women.” Steinem herself has called the show’s representation of the fight “hopelessly wrong” (Mrs. America’s makers didn’t consult the real individuals involved but exercised artistic licence to depict private conversations and relationships) but we do learn a lot from the ERA’s timeline, some of which is eerily relevant today. Whether it’s the sidelining of Black voices by white feminists in the movement, the tension between domesticity, motherhood, independence and work on both sides of the political spectrum, or the Christian family values-fuelled ideology that led to masses of right-wing white women voting for Donald Trump 40 years later, as co-creator Dahvi Waller says, the show serves “as an origin story of today’s culture wars – you can draw a direct line from 1970 to today … and really understand how we became such a divided nation.”
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Politics aside, Mrs. America is worth a watch for the clothes alone. Of course the outfits shouldn’t overshadow the women and their work but each character’s personal style has something to reveal, as sartorial choices are made to reflect – or detract from – their political stance and social standing. It isn’t as clear-cut as groovy vs prim, though; we see women on both sides of the divide dieting, dyeing their hair and applying makeup, proving that women feel the pressure of the patriarchy and use aesthetics as a tool of self-expression regardless of their political agenda.
As the series covers the entirety of the 1970s, costume designer Bina Daigeler highlighted the women’s evolving style, from Phyllis Schlafly’s stuck-in-the-’50s pastel skirt suits and Bella Abzug’s eclectic collection of hats to Gloria Steinem’s statement specs and Flo Kennedy’s penchant for a cowboy hat. Here’s how the style and substance of Mrs. America overlap and intersect – providing some sublime ’70s outfit inspiration along the way.


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