The author in front of “Hillary” in Pristina.

This article originally appeared on VICE Serbia

The people of Kosovo are huge Clinton family fans, mostly because of Bill and Hillary’s open support of the state’s independence bid. While former President Bill Clinton has had a boulevard named after him, it’s without a doubt his wife who’s the real star out here.

Hillary is thought of as a sort of fashion guru around these parts – so much so that there’s a boutique right in the middle of the capital, Pristina, named “Hillary” and dedicated to the former Secretary of State’s sartorial choices. Hillary herself visited the place in 2012 and was gifted a dashing navy-blue pantsuit as a thank you for actually bothering to drop in. True story.

Curious as to why Hillary’s less-than-distinctive look is so popular in this tiny part of the world, I decided to check out the clothes for myself and get a feel of how her presidential run is being received by the shop’s owners.

Fiola and I chatting in front of a picture of Hillary

On a wet Saturday morning I made my way to Pristina. “Hillary” is located only a few metres away from the 10-foot statue of Bill Clinton that marks the start of Clinton Boulevard. Inside, I met Fiola, a 24-year-old English literature student who works as a shop assistant at “Hillary”. She would be my stylist for the day. According to Fiola, her English was “very bad”, but after we got to chatting about clothes we both realised it wasn’t. Either that or she just has a stunning vocabulary when it comes to all things pantsuit.

Unfortunately, Fiola wasn’t working on the day that Hillary actually visited the store. A shame, given how excited the shop owners had been about the visit. Photos documenting the experience had been given shrine-like status throughout the entire building.

As Fiola picked out my first garment of the day she got to telling me about how the whole thing started. Apparently the initial idea for the store came from the owner’s father, who reckoned that if he opened a shop dedicated to Hillary, one day she’d have to come to Pristina to meet him. As ludicrous as that sounds, he wasn’t wrong.

The highly sought-after beige pantsuit

Due to popular demand, Fiola didn’t have the store’s most sought-after garment – a beige pantsuit – in my size. So, instead, we opted for a dark-blue co-ord. High heels were mandatory for this one; as Fiola explained, Hillary would want her body to look “elegant” in that particular skirt.

It seems to be mostly young, business-savvy ladies who shop at “Hillary”, which helps to make the boutique one of Pristina’s most exclusive. It’s all relative, though – take the fact that Kosovo has one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe into account and it’s not too surprising that everything on offer at Hillary is made mostly of synthetic fabrics.

Accordingly, the price for what’s essentially a Hillary Halloween costume are above average for the region, but low for the rest of the Western world. The first outfit I tried on, for example, would set you back around €120.

The dark blue pantsuit and my fake husband

As I’m allergic to high heels I asked Fiola to bring on the next outfit in hope of escaping the bloody things. I wasn’t allowed. In fairness, what’s a dark blue pantsuit without high heels? Nothing, according to my stylist.

“Don’t stand like that!” Fiola howled at me as I stumbled out of the dressing room. “Hillary would have her back straight. Not like you!”

Posture rectified, I decided to go for a short walk to see if my make-believe husband was into my new look. Unfortunately, my make-believe husband was an inanimate statue of Bill Clinton, so I didn’t get much in the way of feedback.

An outfit to match the American flag

I asked Fiola what clothes she’d pick out for Hillary if she chose to visit the store again one day. Without a second’s hesitation she brought out a white shirt, dark blue trousers and a red blazer.

“Americans like that, don’t they? These are the colours of their flag,” she explained.

I asked Fiola what she thought about Hillary’s candidacy. “I wish her all the best. And I hope she will win,” she said.

Fiola’s guess on what Hillary might wear if she wins

And what if she does win? What’s she going to wear then? I figured I should try to could find myself a Hillary-worthy inauguration dress. The shop offered a few “red-carpet” dresses, and Fiola chose their best synthetic, bejewelled number for me.

“Chin up!” she yelled at me again as I was checking myself out in the mirror. She sees Hillary as a “strong, independent woman”, and therefore demanded that I too acted the part.

While deciding what you think of Hillary, maybe you’d also like to take a look at the candidates for next month’s UK election. Here’s a segment on “The Heroin-Loving Piss-Takers Running Against Nigel Farage in Kent”:

As the rain began to clear, more and more ladies started popping into the shop. Some women were looking for party dresses, others for business outfits. I remembered that, earlier, Fiola had told me it’s mostly female politicians who buy pantsuits in Pristina.

I didn’t get a chance to meet any of them, but one thing was pretty obvious: there are women in Kosovo who really like to look and feel American. Even though the clothes sold in “Hillary” are mostly imported from Turkey, buying in them here makes them feel just that.

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