Marin County Lawyers Get Hit By The Fashion Police
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF)-- Marin County lawyers have been hit by the fashion police and some don't appreciate the unsolicited advice.
Susana Perczek runs a business called Style Rescue that offers fashion advice to professional women.
Last month, Perczek roamed the hallways of the Marin County Courthouse, and silently critiqued the fashion choices of the female attorneys she saw.
Of the twenty women they observed, only one was a fashion 'do.'
Perczek and her female business partner published the courthouse fashion 'don'ts' in an article in the Marin Bar Association newsletter entitled, 'Beyond Black, Revising the Lawyer Dress Code For Women.'
The three most egregious fashion faux pas listed were a "burgundy velvet blazer in spring, sneakers, and a tight knit striped mini-skirt with mismatched stripe blazer over a neon blouse, and teetering mules."
At least one attorney took offense.
Prosecutor Yvette Martinez reportedly wrote an angry letter to the Marin Bar Association calling the article "blatantly sexist." She said if Perczek's article had been written by a man, "it would not be published. But simply because this article was authored by two women, the same sexist message is somehow allowed."
Perzcek insists that everyone -- not just women -- is judged by their appearance, and the consequences of that first impression can be profound, in or out of the courtroom.
"How much you can relate and connect to a judge and jury matters," she said. "We are visual beings, and it takes 2-3 seconds for somebody to look at you and create a whole story."
The Marin Bar Association said it doesn't necessarily agree with every article in its newsletter. A rebuttal will be printed in its next edition.
