Getty photo courtesy of Potomack Auctions
The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg famously became known for her iconic collars and jabots worn on the bench. For the Justice, each had a powerful coded message coupled with a fashion statement.
Potomack Auctions in Alexandria is offering, in its Sept. 20-21 auctions, one of RBG's favorite collars, The Pegasus, featured in a Time magazine commemorative piece not long after she died in 2020.
Time called her a fashion pioneer, stating she subtly encoded “meaning in her dress.” The Ginsburg family shared details with Time about the collars represented in the article. These collars are the subject of a forthcoming book, "The Collars of RBG: A Portrait of Justice” by Elinor Carucci and Sara Bader.
Photo courtesy of Potomack Auctions
RBG Pegasus collar
The collar sent the unspoken – but very clear – message that the justice was back in action and ready for duty. When previously asked when there will be enough women on the court, she replied, “When there are nine.”
RBG follows a long tradition in American history of women using fashion to communicate an important message. In the late 18th century, Martha Washington gave portrait painter Gilbert Stuart a piece of lace ruffle to include in his important depictions of the first president. According to George Washington’s Mount Vernon, lace in the 18th century “communicated statements about one’s position in society, wealth, and purchasing power” and was “the ultimate power accessory.”
Included in the Sept. 20-21 auction with the Ginsburg metallic collar is the Martha Washington fragment of lace given to Gilbert Stuart for his presidential portrait. The fragment is evocative of the lacy jabots worn more than 200 years later by Justice Ginsburg and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court.
In 2021, Potomack sold RBG’s modern art and memorabilia collection for more than $1 million to benefit Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center.
To support Justice Ginsburg’s vision of equal protection under the law for all Americans, the Potomack Company will donate a percentage of the commission to the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Endowed Fund for Research in Civil Rights and Gender Equality of the American Bar Foundation, an organization founded in 1952 for which Ginsburg served many years as an officer and board member.
