I’ve been meaning to write about Dr. Deborah Birx, coronavirus response coordinator for the White House and an almost daily presence on the Trump coronavirus team’s daily briefings.
Not only is she a straight shooter — like the other day when she called out that idiot Sen. Rand Paul for going about business as usual after he’d been exposed to the virus — this retired Army colonel who has two grown children and grandchildren is the perfect blend of class, authoritativeness and style.
She has caught the attention of more writers than I. For example, Robin Givhan, fashion critic for The Washington Post, said this about her sense of style…
Birx doesn’t dress like a lady politician in jewel-tone suits and statement jewelry. She doesn’t wear power dresses, those sleek sheaths that are a critical part of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s professional wardrobe. She doesn’t turn up in a white coat as if she’s there to take the nation’s collective temperature. Birx’s style can be called classically feminine when she wears her shirtwaist dresses and knots silk scarves around her shoulders. She exudes academic wonkiness with her earth tones and tunics and mufflers double-wrapped around her neck. She never looks bland or nondescript. She doesn’t look like an automaton or someone who has lost herself in the data and computer models. And in doing so, she offers a subtle but important reminder to people that while this crisis is serious and meeting it is hard, we are still human. Do not lose yourself. Be kind to yourself.
Kirsten Fleming of the New York Post said this…
In every briefing…Birx has brought her special brand of sartorial serenity and strength to the country. Unlike many women in top perches of American society, who thrive off the fumes of their structured, angular power suits and unimaginative shift dresses, Birx relies on soft silhouettes, feminine frocks and her seemingly unending supply of scarves that she neatly drapes and wraps around her shoulders. Instead of look-at-me reds and electric hues, she opts for muted dark blues and namaste earth tones.
On Friday morning she entered the briefing room in a silver raw silk dress with a fuller skirt and oversize monochrome sash. Her trademark scarf neatly hung over her right shoulder. The retro form could have been plucked from June Cleaver’s closet, but on Birx, it was thoroughly modern housewife — cleaning up our nation’s mess with her brains instead of a vacuum and marigold gloves. It was a testament to the versatility and power of femininity.
Dr. Deborah Birx
Dr. Birx also knows how to handle Trump. On Monday, for example, she was back at the podium after having gone missing over the weekend.
She explained that she had stayed at home because of a low-grade fever. At the mention of fever, Trump made a mock gesture of shock and playfully retreated a few steps. (It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen Trump do or heard him say.)
Dr. Birx just smiled and waved him off before explaining that she had been tested and the result had come back negative.
…We can’t have Dr. Birx getting sick. No, no, she is one of our most illuminating and inspirational leaders in the war against Covid-19…as well as a testament to the power of femininity.
Good lord, what is this, WWD??! Why are they so focused on her wardrobe?!
I like her, too. A refreshing presence, akin to a Nicki Haley. I was a little concerned about her yesterday, tho. As Trump prattled on and on she did look a little weak and dizzy.
Because she does stand in sharp contrast with the button-down, mostly stiff-and-starch outfits we’ve seen in most women high up in most administrations. Her outfits are phenomenal. (Not taking a thing away from her “depth,” as I indicated; she just seems to have it on all fronts.)
Dr Brix is a rockstar. Have no idea how her and Fauci put up with the stable genius but if he was smart he’d heed to their advice on how long to continue the social distancing guidelines.
You, too, Jimmy C? But since you brought up the topic of public fashion, what about the news anchors in sun dresses who look like they have just left a lawn party?
Much to my irritation, Trump usually refers to her as Deb. Not “Doctor”. He doesn’t do that to Doctor Fauci.
Good column. Classic style meant for a quick read and reflection. Zeitgeist-y. When the paper came out twice a day and had multiple sections, this was the type of journalism stalwart piece you’d shuffle through sections, locate, and fold in a half or quarter page to find out what “your” columnist was thinking.
Page 15A of Sunday Star has an editorial “I’m barely surviving what is probably COVID-19 infection”, by David Von Drehle, a local guy who writes for national publications.