While Joe Biden and Paul Ryan duked it out in a lively debate on Thursday night, little attention was paid to their better halves: Janna Ryan and Dr. Jill Biden, who sat quietly in the front row of the crowd at Centre College. The two women smiled, waved to the crowd, and climbed onstage at the end of the broadcast to congratulate their husbands and be really, really cordial to each other.
Janna Ryan -- a champion of the affordable dress -- this time didn't choose Talbots, which has been her favorite so far on the campaign trail. Instead, she wore a conservative raspberry-colored dress and matching jacket from Anne Klein, which is currently on sale at Macys.com for $159.99. But she chose her own belt -- thicker and darker than the one advertised with the suit online -- and threw a big brooch on top, and matched it with black patent leather heels. The dress communicated Ryan's message: professional and affordable; conservative and All-American.
Jill Biden, on the other hand, who usually favors bright colors and look-at-me styles, opted for a dark purple jersey dress for the debate. It was flattering and appropriate, but didn't help her stand out (which, I guess, is the point?). It was figure-hugging with ruched sides and a deep neckline, and like Ryan, Biden accessorized with a big brooch. It may be, as The Huffington Post pointed out, a dress she had worn before: she wore an eerily similar dress to visit a Virginia hospital in 2011. This would be no surprise for Dr. Biden, who wore the same dresses multiple times on the campaign trail in 2008. She's a teacher, after all.
