Photo: Hartmarx Corp.
The newest President of the United States caused a stir with the way he accessorized his new tuxedo at the Inaugural balls a couple of days ago, but it was nothing that shouldn't have been anticipated. He dressed the same modestly unconventional way he has been dressing for these things since he came to Washington. He was photographed wearing a black suit with a white shirt and silver tie at the black tie Legends Ball in 2005, for example, and he wore a dinner jacket with a black four in hand at the NAACP Image Awards in 2005.
If his dress was unsurprising, it was also disappointing. Mr. Obama invoked John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address, a man whose inaugural dress is remarked upon four decades later. Obama has a shape that looks good in clothes and he had the same opportunity, but he failed to take advantage.
He failed to take advantage because all minor modifications to black tie reduce the formality and elegance of the clothes. The President would have looked outstanding in a classic black and white ensemble, but chose to wear a white bow tie inappropriately to some events and a black four in hand to others.
If he wanted to make a statement about Change with his dress, as would have been his right, I believe he should have discarded black tie altogether and worn a plain black suit with a white shirt and a black satin necktie. It would have been a more powerful look, and though I would have mourned if he did to dinner jackets in this country what John Kennedy did to the hat, this President's inaugural images might also have been viewed across the decades.
Opportunity lost.
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14 comments:
I was also a bit disappointed in his attire for some of the inauguration events. If he was making a statement about breaking from the old way of doing things, I’m not buying it. If anything my admiration of the man is based upon his desire to simply do things that make sense.
Obama's change does not have to extend to clothing standards. It would achieve no purpose. A dress code is imposed deliberately and those who fail to observe it are equally deliberate in so doing. Therefore, an invitation or event which specifies black tie as a dress code should be observed, whether you are President of United States or anyone else for that matter.
It doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone that the style of the president's tuxedo might be constrained by security considerations. A jacket with a kevlar lining might not be available in any arbitrary configuration.
One disappointment among many to come, to be sure. Surprising? Perhaps to some, though not to others.
I was also very disappointed when I caught glimpse of his attire. If he was trying to pull-off a black suit as semi-formal dress, he should have also left his wrist watch at home.
Disappointment is an understatement. One would proffer that a dinner jacket with a white tie is, well.... One is all for change, but not if it is declasse.
Notch lapels?...hmmm...
It's funny, but in Italy the tuxedo has all but disappeared. Italians laugh when they see Americans getting married in tuxedo's (lo smoking, as it is called), and during the day no less!
The dark gray suit with black shoes is considered the appropriate suit for all formal occasions.
I too was disappointed. Irrespective of any issues, I can’t help but think that having both Obamas attractively presented would more successfully convey whatever messages are intended. Wearing ugly clothes is a distraction.
He looked terrible in black notched lapel DJ with black necktie in the daytime and the white bowtie at night. He also looks terrible in the abomination known as a black lounge suit that also look terrible here in Japan. And he looks terrible and disingenuous when he goes sans necktie.
Part of Obama's image is that he's not an ideological politician, as mostly everybody else, he's just as a human being as everybody else, trying to do his best. If he wishes to align himself with the people, he obviously chooses to dress like most people - terrible, as you guys point out. I figure, if everybody followed strict protocol of dress, Obama wouldn't stand back.
Kennedy did not kill the hat. The hat industry was in decline long before.
Apparently he's not just changing things up for dinner. The Bush 'Jackets in the Oval Office' rule seems to have gone by the wayside too.
http://tinyurl.com/8jr8bf
Personally, I was terribly disappointed in his tuxedo for the inaugural balls.(Events, not under the belt!)There was the laydown collar with the white tie, but, even worse, no cummerbund. He likes to gesture with his hands and the white shirt kept popping out along his waist.Our president could re-establish many of the principles of good dress if he so chooses.He will be watched more than any other leader ever has.
For a politician in a democracy it is a virtue to well reflect the values and habits of your constituents. Obama's repeatedly demonstrated discomfort (have you seen the Al Smith dinner outfit?) with formal and semi-formal dress is very much in keeping with the broad consensus of his fellow Americans and especially with his generation. It is a shame for those of us who value such traditions, however.
Still, we ought not intuit too much influence cultural to our elected leaders. As Jovan pointed out above, JFK did not undo the hat, his choice to go hatless just reflected a well-advanced trend coming to the fore with a generational change of leadership.
In our globalized society, the abandonment of evening wear is not confined to the United States. As intials CG notes, Italy - long in the cultural thrall of the US - has also moved in this direction, as have some other casual cultures. Still, resistance is to be found. In Scandinavia, for instance, white-tie - all but dead in the US - is still quite common.
Those of us who defend and popularize traditional dress rules can clearly not look to the President for much help. (With formal wear. I do notice he wears a suit all the time, refreshing given the recent trend of politicians and CEOs in polo shirts.) But the increasingly dire crises the world faces does create an opportunity for us to push against the lackadaisical approach to dress that has characterized the last few decades.
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