אופנה · העשרה · השראה · תולדות האופנה ·Sep 03, 2025

"The Language of Collars" of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Have you ever stopped to think:

- What is fashion, and how is it connected to our self-representation?

- What is fashion, and how is it connected to our professional representation?

- What is fashion, and how is it connected to feminism?

- Can political opinions be expressed through fashion?

- Is fashion a means of conveying essential messages to the world?

Many people today understand the importance of fashion as something that teaches us a great deal about ourselves, our history, and the social, political, behavioral, and economic structures that have existed and still exist. But have you ever thought about the representation of fashion as a symbol— a personal symbol, a collective symbol, a professional symbol?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933–2020) tells us a story that ties all these questions together and offers a unique perspective on a woman who was truly one of a kind— a woman who became a symbol. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a woman who dreamed and achieved, a woman who pursued her goals with a passion for creating change.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, photo: Sebastian Kim, for TIME magazine

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in New York in 1933 to a traditional Jewish family. When she was a baby, her only sister, six years old at the time, passed away. Several years later, just before Ruth finished high school, her mother also passed away.

Ruth was intelligent and talented, and her grades in school were excellent. She received a scholarship to the prestigious Cornell University, where she met Martin Ginsburg, whom she later married in 1954. Together, they studied law and raised their family.

After completing her law degree in 1959, she struggled to find work. No law firm in New York City would hire her. In an interview, she explained that she had been rejected for three reasons: “I was Jewish, a woman, and a mother.”

Thanks to her persistence and remarkable achievements, she managed to secure a position as a law clerk for a judge at the U.S. District Court in New York.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court in 2017. Photo: Philip Birmingham ( Philip Birmingham)

In the 1970s, she began teaching and writing about equality. She fought for women’s rights as well as for equality for men who cared for their children.

In 1980, she became a judge, and in 1993 she was appointed as a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. This was an extraordinary appointment, as before her only one woman had ever been appointed to the Supreme Court. Until then, the Court had been an exclusive stronghold of men.

Ginsburg consistently ruled in favor of gender equality, workers’ rights, and voting rights, and became well known for her powerful dissents against the Court’s majority decisions.

Bader Ginsburg sits in her office at the U.S. Supreme Court, Washington, D.C., 2002. Photo: David Hume Kennerly

Ginsburg broke the glass ceiling for many women in the legal profession. Her legal
achievements were groundbreaking: she supported same-sex marriage, fought against
discrimination against women, advocated for women’s right to abortion, and for minority rights.
She worked tirelessly against gender inequality.

In 2020, at the age of 87, she passed away. Shortly after her death, the internationally
renowned Israeli photographer Elinor Carucci was invited by Time magazine to photograph
Ginsburg’s iconic collection of collars.
Through her collars, one can learn much about her life. The collars she wore over her black
judicial robe were, of course, a fashion statement, but above all, they were a political and
feminist statement. Wearing collars over the black robe was deeply important to her. In a 2009
interview with The Washington Post, she explained that the standard black robe of Supreme
Court justices was designed for men, as it revealed the shirt and tie underneath. Since there
was no robe designed for women in the same way, she chose to consistently wear a feminine
accessory over her robe to assert her femininity and strength.

Photo: Ruben Effendor ( Ruven Afanador)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s collection of collars included embroidered, knitted, and beaded designs. Photographs of them were presented in a new book titled The Collars of RBG: A Portrait of Justice by Elinor Carucci and Sara Bader, published by Penguin Random House.

The book cover The Collars of RBG: A Portrait of Justice ), by Elinor Carucci and Sara Bader

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s collars carried both political and feminist significance, casting light on pivotal moments in her career—such as the collar she wore during her earliest argument for gender equality, or the one she wore when she voiced her support for marriage equality. Beyond that, the collars she chose to wear became a symbol and a way of communicating with the world. One could, in fact, “read” the language of RBG’s collars:

Delicate collars — when she delivered majority opinions
Ethnic collars from her travels abroad — a tribute to civil rights and economic issues
Dark collars — when she issued dissenting opinions

Thus, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s collars were her way of communicating with the world and sending it messages.

"Majority Opinion" Collar:

Ginsburg's "majority collar," which she often wore when delivering a majority opinion from the stand. The collar is made by Anthropologie and was a gift from her legal staff in October 2006. Right photo taken by: Elinor Carucci

"Dissenting Opinion" Collar:

Bader Ginsburg wears a lace collar by artist Simi Knox. Wearing such a delicate collar represents writing a dissenting opinion. It was one of Ginsburg's original lace jabots, which she often wore on the bench from 1993 to 2008. She also wore it in official Supreme Court photos in 2001, 2003, 2009, and 2010. Top photo: Tim Sloan Bottom photo: Elinor Carucci

In this way, one can see how fashion serves to express positions and symbolize meaning.
Without words, simply by observing what Ginsburg wore to each hearing, one could understand
the message she sought to convey against injustice.
After a long life fighting for equality, Ruth achieved everything she dreamed of and more,
becoming an inspiration to all who believe that fair and equal legislation can change the world.
Her passionate defense of equality made her a heroine and beloved symbol worldwide. She
was a trailblazer: the second woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, the first woman to receive
tenure as a professor at Columbia Law School. Her collars were visual, feminine messages that
defied the dull black robes of male judges.

The nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court sit for a photo, November 2018. Ruth Bader Ginsburg (second from bottom right) is unique in her collar over her robe. Photo: Jabin Botsford for The Washington Post

A particularly moving collar:

In 2018, all of Ginsburg’s former law clerks gave her a collar at a reunion. They commissioned
Japanese designer Miyako Nakamura of the brand M.M.LaFleur to create a collar representing
her and her family’s support. Her husband Marty, who admired her and supported her, left his
own career to move with her to Washington. The collar was made of four layers, each
representing a family member. For example, a dotted jacquard fabric from a man’s tie
represented Marty, while a floral jacquard fabric represented their two children, Jane and
James. Inside the collar—hidden from others—was an embroidered quote from her late
husband Marty Ginsburg: “It’s not sacrifice, it’s family.”

On a personal note:
I truly love the world of collars and the way they convey messages. A collar, being positioned so
close to the face, becomes a highly noticeable and meaningful accessory in any interaction. Its
small size compared to the rest of the outfit elevates it to the status of jewelry. Every detail is
visible and each element conveys meaning. That is why I incorporated collars
into my own collection. Ruth Bader Ginsburg inspired me in creating this collection. If I could
turn back time, I would be overjoyed to see her wearing one of my designs.

Liat Brandel's collar

Entirely handmade. It resonates with the aesthetic of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s collars.

Finally, with great hope and belief that our world will continue to become a better place, a quote
from Ruth Bader Ginsburg:
“To make life a little better for people less fortunate than you, that’s what I think a
meaningful life is. One lives not only for oneself, but for one’s community.”