Fashion reporter, Robin Givhan of the Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism for her fashion reporting for what the judges called her "witty, closely observed essays that transform fashion criticism into cultural criticism."

According to Fox News, “Givhan is probably best remembered for ridiculing then-Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris' appearance during the 2000 election recount (Why a Hairstyle Made Headlines). She also commented at some length on the candidate's hair in the 2004 presidential race.” (Another witty example: Dick Cheney, Dressing Down)

Wonkette, a sassy DC centric blog, wrote in an entry, We’re On Next Year’s Shortlist For Sure:

Yesterday, Washington Post Fashion writer Robin Givhan won a Pulitzer prize for criticism. She received the news in the Post’s newsroom in Washington, D.C., wearing a sensible Ivory-colored sweater that represented a consolation of sorts to the purposefully unflashy style of her Beltway-locked coworkers (Ms. Givhan lives and works from New York). On her left hand, riding astride her middle finger, was a magniloquent amber ring, a hint of Uptown frission and a protective barrier — intentional or no — against the dowdification (though not necessarily Dowd-ification) of a DC newsroom.

In another entry, Why We “Idolspize” Robin Givhan,they wrote: “Do we admire Robin Givhan as a journalist? Um, not exactly. But we kind of “idolspize” her. We have to give her props, for getting a respected news organization to give her a job — with full benefits! — picking the low-hanging fruit of poorly dressed politicians.”

According to the Look Online, Givhan’s background, in addition to winning the Pulitzer, is as follows:

Robin Givhan is originally from Michigan. She majored in English at Princeton University and has a masters degree in journalism from the University of Michigan. Robin has been on the staff of the Detroit Free Press, San Francisco Chronicle and Vogue magazine. She's been at The Washington Post since 1995 and in addition to covering the fashion industry, also helped to cover the 2000 presidential election, the Atlanta Olympic Games and, of course, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Robin contributed to a couple of books and freelanced for Essence, The International Herald Tribune and Town and Country, among others. She lives in New York and has a dog.

Being that I am a black journalist myself, I find this refreshing to know that a black woman in the industry is being recognized for her work, not her race. Not once in any of the coverage is race discussed in terms of her being awarded this honor, in addition, she is a fashion critic, something the establishment/industry looks at as a fluff position or beat to cover, but I think in addition to the quality of her writing, she was awarded for her eccentric, detailed ideas. It’s hard to report beyond the superficiality of our culture, and make it into something interesting with meaning, especially when dealing with such political figures in D.C.

I remember seeing her on the Colbert Report and she was very charming. She spoke about what it meant to be a fashion columnist reporting on D.C. She said that D.C. was a unique balance of exuding power, but not necessarily through expensive clothing. Politicians had to walk the narrow line of looking good, not too frumpy, through moderate-priced clothing. They don't want to be perceived as spending the American peoples' money, so they opt not to show off through their suits. She also spoke about colors, especially in ties, saying that the ultimate communication of power for a man in D.C is to wear a red tie.

In a roundtable discussion from the Look Online, Fashion Roundtable: An Interview with Three Leading Black Fashion Journalists, Givhans when asked what do people want to read about she said:

The greatest compliment I can get from a reader is, ‘I'm not interested in fashion but that was interesting…The fashion business is parochial, like junior high school. It's hard to cover it as a serious industry. They respond to negative stories as 7th graders would. Only in the past five years has it changed because the businessmen are taking over. Everyone focuses on the shows, the shows, the shows. I would say that the spin-off of the shows generates news coverage for weeks, even months.”