“An inappropriate length of the garment can seriously spoil a woman’s appearance. It used to be that a skirt or dress had to cover the knees, but nowadays, in the business world, the appropriate length is between about two centimetres above the knee to the middle of the shin,” Ksenija Benedetti, former Head of Protocol of the Republic of Slovenia, said in regards to the proper length of a skirt. The public can make its own judgements regarding the exact length of the skirt which the Speaker of the National Assembly wore for the annual diplomatic consultation and meeting with the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, and come to its own conclusions.
Benedetti apparently shared her opinion in an article unrelated to the Speaker of the National Assembly. She wrote: “I saw a photo on social media that defines messages of certain lengths of garments as follows: 10 centimetres below the knee: an elderly lady, up to the knee: appropriate, 10-15 centimetres above the knee: flirtatious, 15-20 centimetres above the knee: provocative, 25-30 centimetres above the knee: a call girl.”
Benedetti went on to say that when it comes to skirts and dresses, we should take into account the vertical and horizontal measurements, height and weight, as well as age. “It is important to realise that, especially with very narrow skirts, when you sit down, the skirt rides up by about 7 centimetres. This turns a skirt of a suitable length into a mini skirt,” explains the protocol expert. She also notes that a more conservative length is best suited to a business environment. At this point, we can only imagine what the appropriate length is for the highest representative of elected Members of Parliament.
Breaking the rules of conduct
This is far from being the first time that the Speaker of the National Assembly has been publicly rebuked for her style and behaviour. In her first public appearance, she upset the public when, on the red carpet of a public celebration, on the eve of Statehood Day, she waved her arms in a cheerful manner, calling on the crowd to applaud for her, thus turning her back on the Slovenian Armed Forces’ Honour Guard. Shortly afterwards, photos from Celje appeared online, showing her dressed as a lady from the 1920s, posing in the style of “The Great Gatsby.”
Then came that famous boxing video, in which she and a former boxer donned boxing gloves and pranced around the National Assembly’s debating chamber, supposedly for the benefit of sick children. The intention was good and noble, many agreed, but the manner and, above all, the place they chose to execute their idea were completely wrong. Practically the entire Slovenian public was appalled by it.
Then a very similar thing happened again on the state celebration for Independence and Unity Day. At this point, the public had more or less given up.
Censorship attempts?
Just before the latest affair, however, a record appeared on the internet showing that someone was trying to censor or delete parts of the article on Klakočar Zupančič on the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia from a computer that is part of the HKOM – the Communication Network of State Administration of Slovenia network. The unidentified censor wanted to delete the very part of the article about public disgust at some of her appearances.
Gal Kovač
