As myth has it (and TIME has reported), on the days that she dissented, the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would show up to court wearing “a bejeweled collar that looked like armor.”
Clearly, Ginsburg’s sartorial choices have always been about more than personal fashion preferences.
Those deeper meanings are the very focus of “RBG Collars: Photographs by Elinor Carucci,” an exhibit now on display at the Jewish Museum at 1109 Fifth Avenue by 92nd Street on the Upper East Side, showcasing Ginsburg’s many collars and necklaces.
According to an official press release, Ginsburg “wore collars not just to emphasize the long overdue feminine energy she brought to the court, but also to encode meaning into her dress—a sartorial strategy practiced by powerful women throughout history.”
The exhibit, on display through May 27, features a total of 24 photographs of the collars and necklaces owned by the late Justice. The shots were taken by contemporary photographer Elinor Carucci shortly after Ginsburg’s passing in 2020. In 2021, the Jewish Museum acquired the collection, now shown in public for the very first time alongside jewelry from the museum’s own properties, a roster of objects that very much comments on the function and use of adornments throughout history.
The connection between necklaces and political stances has been the focus of reports throughout Ginsburg’s life and after her passing at the age of 87 in 2020.
According to TIME, Ginsburg and fellow Justice Sandra Day O’Connor first started wearing lacy ruffles on the front of their robes, until the former “eventually branched out from lace, acquiring an impressive array of collars made from materials including beads and shells, in a wide range of styles and colors, from name-brand to bespoke.”
“Seen as a whole, the photographs of these collars offer a collective portrait of the late Justice through these objects imbued with her personal style, values, and relationships,” reads the press release. “While Ginsburg often chose them on a whim, she occasionally used them as a form of wordless communication; in every instance, they served as a reminder that her august responsibilities were carried out by a particular human being.”
Ginsburg’s overall style eventually turned her into a pop culture icon whose liking—complete with a statement necklace and glasses—has been plastered all over T-shirts, mugs, tote bags and more throughout the years. Her nickname, “the Notorious RBG,” encapsulates her standing within America’s psyche.
