{"id":68355,"date":"2026-03-16T01:43:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T05:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=68355"},"modified":"2026-03-13T13:44:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:44:23","slug":"rbg-style-exhibit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/rbg-style-exhibit\/","title":{"rendered":"The Personal Style of Ruth Bader Ginsburg \u201954, on Display"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Human Ecology Building’s \u2018Fashioning Justice’ exhibit also includes related items from the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This story was adapted from <\/em>a feature<\/em><\/a> in the <\/em>Cornell Chronicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Tom Fleischman<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cornell graduate. Pioneering attorney and U.S. Supreme Court justice. Mother, grandmother, pop culture icon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg \u201954\u2014a.k.a. \u201cRBG\u201d\u2014was an influencer before it was even a profession, advocating for women\u2019s equality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her personal style, and the substance behind it, are on display in an exhibit, \u201cFashioning Justice: Ruth Bader Ginsburg \u201954 and the Power of Presence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Three<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n
A collection of RBG’s COVID masks, and a pair of her lacy gloves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A collaboration between the Brooks School of Public Policy and the College of Human Ecology, it runs through May 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibit, in display cases in the Human Ecology Building, features accessories, on loan from family members, from Ginsburg\u2019s personal wardrobe\u2014including her signature lacy judicial collars (among them her distinctive \u201cDissent\u201d collars) along with gloves, COVID masks, handbags, jewelry, and scarves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cornellian<\/em> yearbooks and a Class of 1954 Freshman Desk Book, from the University Library, are also on display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
rare and manuscript collections<\/figcaption>
In this 1953 shot of Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority sisters, an already fashionable Ruth Bader is in the second row from the back, third from right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pieces from the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection<\/a> expand the narrative, with items influenced by Ginsburg\u2019s legal legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a really exciting opportunity to talk about the intersections of fashion, law, freedom of expression, and clothing as symbolic speech,\u201d says collection director and exhibit curator Denise Green \u201907<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibit features accessories, on loan from family members, from Ginsburg\u2019s personal wardrobe.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWomen have used fashion, historically and in the present day, as both voice and strategy to seek justice, navigate inequalities, and challenge some of the assumptions about how authority is defined and regulated through appearance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ginsburg, who died at age 87 in 2020, popularized lacy judicial collars alongside Sandra Day O\u2019Connor, the first female Supreme Court justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n
A purse with a copy of the U.S. Constitution, and a collar with a message.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over time, Ginsburg\u2019s collars developed more precise meanings and could signal whether she had written a majority opinion or, more famously, when she was dissenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe judicial robe is itself a symbolic garment intended to convey authority, impartiality, and uniformity,\u201d says Green, also the Lau Family Associate Professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Human Centered Design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut because the judicial robe was designed for a man\u2019s body, it left space at the neckline for a collar and tie, allowing for individual expression to peek through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Because the judicial robe was designed for a man\u2019s body, it left space at the neckline for a collar and tie, allowing for individual expression to peek through.<\/p>\nProf. Denise Green \u201907<\/strong>, director of the Fashion + Textile Collection<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The court\u2019s only two female justices seized the opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Says Green: \u201cThere was something both witty and bold in the way that they exaggerated this already-obvious difference with lace and other materials associated with femininity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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