For her part, the secretary of State sported a tight, above-the-knee, ivory suit with tortoise-shell pumps.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., also went with the tall boots, paired with a scarf and a grey suit. Then again, she represents Madison Avenue, so you might expect her to stand out.

Red was once again the most popular color among the women on the Hill. Among the 13 women we counted who chose the attention-getting garb: Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, D-Ohio, who wore black leather pants and a red blouse, and Sen. Hillary Clinton, who eschewed her normally preferred blue. “It’s smart,” said one fashion-conscious source. “Blue screams Harriet Miers.”

We counted nine women in black this year, followed by eight in blue, six in green, five in purple (including Speaker Nancy Pelosi), five in pink, four in orange, three in grey, two in white, two in yellow and one in tan (Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.).

Such choices were on many minds. We overheard one observer remark, “It’s too bad they couldn’t coordinate colors based on who they sit next to. Sometimes it really clashes.”

At least the first family got it right. Laura Bush wore shimmering red, while daughter Barbara, to her right, was decked out in white, and Jenna, to her left, chose dark blue to complete a patriotic picture.