Best Dressed Statesman

[am55]

The Duke of Windsor was not a statesman! During World War II he
was accused of being a Nazi sympathizer and was "exiled"
by the British government to the Caribbean where he was
Governor of the Bahamas. Don't they teach history in your
schools?


ernews.com/2013/05/the-duke-of-windsors-1940-bermuda-detour

It's customary to post the photo(s) when pointing this out:

Spoiler

"literally Hilter"

However, we should be capable of divorcing the men from their ideas, this is a style forum after all and if we were to exclude all with whom we disagree it would not leave much inspiration. Narcissists in particular are often fantastic dressers.

 

[am55]

Talking of which, whilst the man was not exactly an Apollo, nor his legacy particularly easy to discuss in 2019 (I guess it depends which part of Paris you live in @Clouseau), he was an expert (like his boss) at using clothing to project the gravitas that his height and embonpoint (unlike his boss) could not deliver:

The tie knots are always perfect, in impeccable collars:

The bow tie in particular captures a certain look that is rarer these days of purposely messy, heavy affairs of carefully froisse silks:

And this in places without running water and with the tropical heat that will render useless most outfits.

Is it a coincidence that as this generation died out, we rapidly lost our influence, to the rising Chinese and omnipresent Americans? His descendants do not have the same carrure let alone statesmanship. Well, that is perhaps best for the residents of our former colonies.

 

[Knurt]

Teaching at University level, I have finally come to the conclusion that suit and tie is the required and appreciated outfit. Yes, content is what matters, but packaging matters too. And by stating the importance of packaging I am referring to the product and not the wrapping.

 

[comrade]

It's customary to post the photo(s) when pointing this out:

Spoiler

View attachment 1196571
"literally Hilter"

However, we should be capable of divorcing the men from their ideas, this is a style forum after all and if we were to exclude all with whom we disagree it would not leave much inspiration. Narcissists in particular are often fantastic dressers.

You missed my point.The Duke was no Statesman. At best he was a naive
and bumbling Royal who put himself in a position so that he might be ex-
ploited by the Nazis. If her were not a member of the Royal family he
could have suffered a much worse fate than being sent to an inconsequental
post in the Americas where he was closely monitored. As for narcissism, I have no idea whether the Duke exhibited this trait,. And yes, he was one of the very best dressed figures of the 20th century.

 

[am55]

You missed my point.The Duke was no Statesman. At best he was a naive
and bumbling Royal who put himself in a position so that he might be ex-
ploited by the Nazis. If her were not a member of the Royal family he
could have suffered a much worse fate than being sent to an inconsequental
post in the Americas where he was closely monitored. As for narcissism, I have no idea whether the Duke exhibited this trait,. And yes, he was one of the very best dressed figures of the 20th century.

The Royal Family, though, are absolutely statespeople. Look at how the Queen handled the US state visit - probably quite beneficial to the country in the long run, given that the "professionals" were occupied with other things.

The Duke bet on the wrong horse but he was far from alone and in another world history, Britain could very well have become an Axis power or ally, just as a large number of citizen in supposedly "occupied" countries I won't name (*cough* Mers-el-Kebir *cough*) were very happy for German "leadership"; the British Empire was a good fit for cohabitation with the Thousand Year Reich, and Hitler offered to help defend the colonies; as late as May 1941, Rudolf Hess bet his life that an arrangement was still possible. Was Chamberlain truly weak, or simply representing the views of his nation at a time before fascism became a swearword?

Had Britain committed earlier to rapprochement, the Duke may well have been more politically important, instead of sidelined. Look at how Kissinger (to take a famous example) managed to create backdoors for communication and realpolitik without - for a chunk of his life - any official role in diplomacy.

He was a narcissistic playboy but so are many "professional" statesmen, which is why the likes of Jho Low can succeed (and let us remember that he got his start by playing like an illusionist on global expectations of statesmanship from royal families).

Talking of which, to tie back to the thread subject:

 

[EdT]

It's customary to post the photo(s) when pointing this out:

Spoiler

View attachment 1196571
"literally Hilter"

However, we should be capable of divorcing the men from their ideas, this is a style forum after all and if we were to exclude all with whom we disagree it would not leave much inspiration. Narcissists in particular are often fantastic dressers.

Looks like Adolf is wearing Hugo Boss, he too was a brilliant statesmen in keeping the Soviets out of the war in the beginning while he chewed up much of Europe ! ...LoL

 

[bdavro23]

You missed my point.The Duke was no Statesman. At best he was a naive
and bumbling Royal who put himself in a position so that he might be ex-
ploited by the Nazis. If her were not a member of the Royal family he
could have suffered a much worse fate than being sent to an inconsequental
post in the Americas where he was closely monitored. As for narcissism, I have no idea whether the Duke exhibited this trait,. And yes, he was one of the very best dressed figures of the 20th century.

Something often left out of discussions of the Duke, is the fact that most of the pictures of him are in black and white. Grayscale photography often lends itself to making things look more classic and refined. I thought I would post the following pictures to highlight the fact that the Duke wore clothing that often wouldbe considered garish today. Behold:

 

[comrade]

The Royal Family, though, are absolutely statespeople. Look at how the Queen handled the US state visit - probably quite beneficial to the country in the long run, given that the "professionals" were occupied with other things.

The Duke bet on the wrong horse but he was far from alone and in another world history, Britain could very well have become an Axis power or ally, just as a large number of citizen in supposedly "occupied" countries I won't name (*cough* Mers-el-Kebir *cough*) were very happy for German "leadership"; the British Empire was a good fit for cohabitation with the Thousand Year Reich, and Hitler offered to help defend the colonies; as late as May 1941, Rudolf Hess bet his life that an arrangement was still possible. Was Chamberlain truly weak, or simply representing the views of his nation at a time before fascism became a swearword?

Had Britain committed earlier to rapprochement, the Duke may well have been more politically important, instead of sidelined. Look at how Kissinger (to take a famous example) managed to create backdoors for communication and realpolitik without - for a chunk of his life - any official role in diplomacy."

An interesting exercise in postdiction. Of course, Churchill's replacing
Chamberlain made a British Empire/Third Reich arrangement unlikely.
As for the Duke "betting on the wrong horse", his status probably protected
him from suffering a similar fate as Sir Oswald Mosley, although the
latter was an actual Fascist not just a sympathizer.

Another point. I am afraid that you misread the American
government system. Kissinger, who you cite as figure without
"any official role in diplomacy" was in fact the head of the
National Security Council- a Very Offical position, when he
engaged in back door diplomacy. The power of this office and
its' incumbent often rivals and even supercedes that of the Secretary
of State, which was certainly true during Kissinger's NSC tenure- 1969-73.

 

[am55]

Another point. I am afraid that you misread the American
government system. Kissinger, who you cite as figure without
"any official role in diplomacy" was in fact the head of the
National Security Council- a Very Offical position, when he
engaged in back door diplomacy. The power of this office and
its' incumbent often rivals and even supercedes that of the Secretary
of State, which was certainly true during Kissinger's NSC tenure- 1969-73.

Kissinger left office in 1977. Kissinger & Associates was formed in 1982. His next government job (IIRC) was his brief stint on the 9/11 investigation commission in 2002, which he had to resign due to the transparency required (o tempora, o mores...). That is many decades of no official roles. To take one data point, he seems to have been peripherally involved in the setting up of Hakluyt (an unofficial extension of British interests) in 1995.

In any case he does not dress particularly well

 

[am55]

Another well dressed ambivalent fascist, Dino Grandi, who eventually managed to get Mussolini removed from office, and loved double-breasted clothing. Some of these shots could come from the Spier thread:

 

[Schwazer]

Paul Keating had a penchant for Ermenegildo Zegna suits.

 

[comrade]

Low key Portuguese Fascist Dictator, Dr. Salazar.
No flashy uniforms for him. An elegant conservative
dresser:

 

[comrade]

Carl Mannerheim, brilliant general and President of Finland at a
crucial time. Always photographed in uniform. Note the German
decorations:

 

[comrade]

Ellsworth Bunker, patrician diplomatic factotum for presidents Truman,
Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. I personally met him in the
Dominican Republic.

 

[comrade]

Markus Wolf, East German Spymaster: