The 74-year-old Hillary Clinton said that she began donning her notorious pantsuits in the 1990s because a Brazilian firm exploited a picture of her wearing a skirt to promote provocative underwear.
Clinton recalled the incident that led to the picture being taken when she was still first lady to CBS News presenter Norah O’Donnell on Sunday. “I was sitting on a sofa and the press was allowed in, there were a number of them shooting up,” she said.
The former Secretary of State said, “All of a sudden, the White House receives a notification about these billboards that show me sitting down with — I thought my legs [were] together, but the way it’s shot, it’s kind of suggestive.”
The advertisement for the lingerie company Duloren, which debuted in Brazilian periodicals in 1995, included a photo of Clinton accidently flashing her underwear under a fitted skirt while on vacation in Brazil.
The brand’s statement to then-President Bill Clinton appeared on the page opposite the photograph and said, “Mr. President of the United States, Your Excellency cannot understand what a Duloren (brand) can achieve.”
The inscription continued in smaller characters, “A tribute from Duloren to one of the most significant ladies of the decade.”
When the advertisement was issued, she was 49 years old.
According to Clinton in her interview with NBC, it was at this time—combined with the continual photography of her—that she decided to begin donning just pantsuits, which have since been a mainstay of her wardrobe.
Even when Clinton was seen at the Venice Film Festival last week in Italy wearing a flowing summer dress, she was wearing a pair of leggings beneath.
She said that after the Brazilian advertisement experience, photographers began to try to find a slip-up, and that they would take pictures of her when she was climbing stairs.
I simply couldn’t handle it, she said.
Clinton was chatting with her 42-year-old daughter Chelsea Clinton about their forthcoming AppleTV+ documentary series, “Gutsy,” which premieres on Friday, September 9.
After telling O’Donnell about her experience, Clinton’s daughter said, “I didn’t know that tale, it’s by far and away the biggest revelation I had.”
The former first lady said, “I have no regrets,” when questioned about her decision to continue living with her husband after it became well known that he had been unfaithful.
In a reference to the title of her docuseries, she said that staying married to Bill was the “gutsiest” choice of her private life.
The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience, which Hillary and Chelsea co-authored, served as the inspiration for their television series.
The programme features some of what they refer to as the world’s “boldest and bravest” women, including artists, activists, and community leaders. It follows the mother-daughter team as they go on adventures.
The actors Kate Hudson, Mariska Hargitay, and Goldie Hawn will also make appearances, as well as the female soccer star Megan Rapinoe and comic Amy Schumer.