Best Dressed Statesman

[Oleg]



I must say, the man in grey, John Major was always impeccably dressed.

Was he ****! He got packed off to the Row by the party image consultants after that portrait of him in the Downing Street garden in a pair of elasticated waist trousers which appear to have come from the classifieds at the back of one of the Sunday paper colour supplements.

Politicians who are getting elected can't afford to turn up in a £6000 suit without being accused of being elitist and out of touch...
Francois Mitterand , the Socialist president, used to get his bespoke suits from Cifonelli...
How crazy it is now to even consider a Socialist wearing a £5000 suit and a pair of bespoke shoes?

Think it was Gieves and Hawkes that Gorbachev used to shop at when he was president. Subsequently Alexander McQueen.

£6K is too much , but David Cameron's £3K Richard James suit didn't stop him from getting the job, despite the negative publicity.

Recession, unpopular PM, government coming to the end of its third term - doesn't seem to have helped, does it? A missed open goal of Ronnie Rosenthal proportions. For what it's worth, I don't like Cameron's clothes: looks like he's been togged out by an committee of image consultants.

From the nasty oiks side of the divide, Mandelson and Paul Boateng have usually dressed well. The old school Tories like Nicholas Soames usually do it well too. Philip Hammond used to be so excessively well turned out he just looked weird - saw him walking down Millbank one day and people were pointing at him and laughing. He's toned it down a bit now, I gather.

I was working in Parliament when Barbara Follet decided to 'do colours' for all the Labour MPs. The results were horrific. She'd announce that anyone with a hint of russet was 'an autumn' and instruct them to wear green and brown. Meant that all these MPs, who were previously sticking to the standard grey or blue, started turning up in brown suits with yellow shirts and green ties. Seemed like the place had been overrun with smartened up leprechauns.

Aussie politicians are normally dreadfully turned out but Bob Katter has usually been an exception. Can't knock the RMs they all wear though.

 

[Bradford]



I was working in Parliament when Barbara Follet decided to 'do colours' for all the Labour MPs. The results were horrific. She'd announce that anyone with a hint of russet was 'an autumn' and instruct them to wear green and brown. Meant that all these MPs, who were previously sticking to the standard grey or blue, started turning up in brown suits with yellow shirts and green ties. Seemed like the place had been overrun with smartened up leprechauns.

This is one of the funniest lines ever!

 

[Schwazer]



Aussie politicians are normally dreadfully turned out but Bob Katter has usually been an exception. Can't knock the RMs they all wear though.

Katter-pult is indeed an exception. Quite a character.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]

Standards for statesmen today aren't near what they were in the days of Tito, JFK, and Harold MacMillan (the last Edwardian). And Anthony Eden would put his head in his hands and weep if he saw the dreck that today's powerful pols routinely wear while thinking they look good.

Still, there are some who have been trying to keep up standards. As is frequently noted here, several top pols have been trying harder since they retired to elder statesman roles: Kofi Annan and Bill Clinton come to mind.

Annan in office. Meh. It's a mistake to match a secondary in the tie with the ground of the shirt:

Annan as elder statesman. Much better:

Clinton in power:

Clinton today:

This seems to be the pattern for elected heads of government today. They dress dully and a bit badly while in office, and then step up their game when they leave office and work more as advisors and wise men--senators in the old sense of the term.

One top pol who's trying to keep up standards while in the top job is Japan's Shinzo Abe. He often misses on his combinations, but he's obviously trying.

Contrast collar, block stripe tie, and light gray coat. Pity that the tie is the ugly combo of satin weave with light colors that today's elite pols favor. Had the tie been black and red stripes in grenadine weave, it would have been smashing:

Monochrome patterns in suit and tie--a clear sign of a thinking but immature dresser--but the pattern types combine nicely:

3pc SBPL in off-black with a nicely contrasting buttonhole. Colors work well together. Pity the tie is an ugly satin weave. Would have looked good in grenadine or basket-weave, and even better in a B&W shepherd's check. He needs to learn more about textures.

Like the younger Annan, a matching of a secondary in the tie with the ground of the shirt. Obviously thinking about his dress, but reaching the wrong conclusions.

If this is bespoke, somebody should tell his tailor to give him higher armholes:

Not his best day, but points for trying:

Obviously not bespoke. This is bad dressing:

Morning dress, not bespoke. Not bad combo, but tie is a bit too dull:

Not bad, coat looks MTM or budget bespoke, but WTF is the symbol on his tie? Tailor needs to raise the armholes and give him a little more room in the back:

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]

Francois Fillon of France. One of Sarkozy's ministers. Obviously a dresser. He understands the value of dark purple ties. Two of his better efforts:

He seems frequently to favor a pencil striped shirt and a tie with a very small but noticeable dot pattern. He'd do better either to have the scale of the tie pattern be bigger than the shirt stripe, or wear a solid tie with noticeable texture. The shirt pattern drowns out the tie pattern.

He could learn something from Shinzo Abe about varying the scale when combining patterns:

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]



Philip Hammond used to be so excessively well turned out he just looked weird - saw him walking down Millbank one day and people were pointing at him and laughing. He's toned it down a bit now, I gather..

Glancing down the Google Images of him, I gather he toned it down a while ago. Never seen a body more desperately in need of a checked DB and textured suitings.

 

[OTM]

Off-black, I lol'ed

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]

By that, I mean 95% or so black, with some white yarns thrown in to lighten the color a touch. What some call Oxford gray or Cambridge gray, and was used in the mid 20th century for morning coats and strollers.

 

[comrade]

...and business suits too.

 

[lasbar]



Glancing down the Google Images of him, I gather he toned it down a while ago. Never seen a body more desperately in need of a checked DB and textured suitings.

His smile is more disturbing than his suits..

 

[Schwazer]

Marty Natalegawa - Indonesian Foreign Minister.

 

[lasbar]



Marty Natalegawa - Indonesian Foreign Minister.

He is quite elegant for a politician...

They normally stick to the ill fitted navy blue suit..

 

[Cifodeluca]

1. Warren Christopher, 2. Kofi Annan, 3. Anthony Eden

 

[Cifodeluca]

Maybe not really a statesman, but does anybody know who is the tailor of Joaan Al Thani's peak lapel SB coats?

 

[Schwazer]



He is quite elegant for a politician...

They normally stick to the ill fitted navy blue suit..

Natalegawa is definitely better than most.