Obama's First Fashion Faux Pas

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed)
Jan 21st 2009 at 6:02PM

While we're all rejoicing at the fact that Barack Obama is our new president, we did have some reservations about the tuxedo he wore to the inauguration ball (above). Simply put, the combination of a notched-lapel dinner jacket (by Hart Schaffner Marx) and a big, shiny white bow tie was not quite the thing for a commander-in-chief. We asked our old friend Alan Flusser, the world's leading authority on men's style who's been interviewed several times about Obama's dress sense, for his thoughts on the matter. Flusser is a renowned designer and author of several seminal works on men's style including Dressing the Man: Mastering The Art of Permanent Fashion. You can check out his interview with Charlie Rose here.

In Dressing the Man, Flusser writes, "The whole idea of a formal suit [i.e. tuxedo] is to distinguish itself from the notch-lapel business suit, not replicate it." Flusser declares that a dinner jacket with notched lapels is nothing short of a "sartorial oxymoron, convoluting both the form's aesthetic logic and its promise of timeless elegance." A proper dinner jacket should have peaked lapels, or, for slightly less formal occasions, a shawl collar. As for the white bow tie, that should only ever be worn with tails - hence the classic "white tie and tails" - and should never be satin. (For the record, George W. Bush was also fond of the notched lapel look - though thankfully not the white bow tie - which showed to his disadvantage when he met with stylish French President Nicolas Sarkozy.)

"I've been doing interviews about how purposeful and reasonably stylish Obama dresses and how he might just begin to set a new fashion bar for the congressional set," Flusser tells Luxist, "and then he goes and shows up in that hodgepodge of formalwear contrivance. In fact, although we make clothes for people he knows, I have been reluctant to reach out to him because he obviously has more on his plate than any one human is entitled to. However, after last night's display of sartorial naivety, I am now determined to throw my hat into the ring of potential fashion advisors/designers for his evolving Presidential wardrobe. Frankly I care less as to whether we make his clothes than teaching him what dressing in a statesman-like manner actually constitutes. I think he's just the greatest and I want nothing more for him than to succeed at everything."

That said, Flusser notes, "Talk about dressing green - this is a [sartorial] advisor kind of meltdown. I don't care if he chooses to wear mediocre or inexpensive clothes but that is no excuse for sporting a notch lapel (always peaked or shawl lapel) dinner jacket with an oversized white bow tie, making him look gift wrapped and therefore costumed. Although Obama tends to look as if he's comfortable and wearing the clothes, last night's ensemble made him look as if the clothes were wearing him, like he was taking his best shot trying to wear something he had little feel for, which obviously (as you have so correctly observed) he does not. Okay, sermon over."

Note - for more on the ins and outs of men's formal attire, see last week's Classicist column, "Ralph Lauren, Whit Stillman and Black Tie," and this post from Michael Williams' brilliant style blog A Continuous Lean.

Tags: Alan Flusser, AlanFlusser, Barack Obama, BarackObama, Black tie, BlackTie, inauguration, Tuxedo

Filed under: Men's Style

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 18)

Ozzy Jan 21st 2009 8:01PM

wow.... who cares?
Personally, I would put his lapel choice very low on the list of things the President should be criticized for.
Do the foreign leaders or the financial system care whether Obama's lapel is pointed, rounded, or purple polka-doted? nope, and noone else does either.
Go slam Diddy for wearing Blue or something.

sus Jan 22nd 2009 8:44PM

sorrry to disagree with you but foreign leaders do notice what other leaders are wearing it is very important to them that they present themselves in a very fashionable way while at a social event.

gibby Jan 22nd 2009 10:35PM

I agree! Some (a lot) of people need to get a life!

Cathy Jan 22nd 2009 11:16PM

Let's see... Obama to-do-list: "Fix" the economy; stop foreclosures; try to orchestrate peace in the Middle East; bring troops home; end war; find new forms of energy; fix healthcare; bring jobs back to the U.S.; .... OH YEAH make sure my tuxedo and bow tie go together. Really.... find something worthwhile!

Kay Jan 22nd 2009 11:40PM

He is very handsome and with that smile and sparkling eyes...who cares what he wears.He looked great! He is a very smart man and a loving father and husband.This country,Michelle and the girls are very lucky to have him.It's NOT the clothes that make the man ,haven't you heard ???
Kay

Jeanne Jan 23rd 2009 12:31AM

Funny. Thought the article was going to be about Michelle Obama's recent very questionable fashion picks. Never even considered the possiblility of the Pres.

Debi Jan 23rd 2009 2:09AM

These people are REAL! They're the majority of us. Be thankful and not judgemental! For cryin' out loud, they're not here to put on a fashion show! They're not wearing garbage bags! They look great. They feel great. They mean great. I can only hope that their intelligent frugality reflects the near future of our nation!!!

lo_lo Jan 23rd 2009 10:12PM

Sorry, I have to agree with sus. Image is very important. Take Princess Diana, who went from casually mousey to red carpet glamorous over twenty years. President Obama doesn't have that long. But has anyone noticed that President Obama is getting much more defense than Mrs. Obama? I guess women are easier to scrutinize.

luci Jan 23rd 2009 8:55PM

I agree. Personally I kind of like the idea of dressing what makes him comfortable.

Casual or whatever. Doesn't change the greatness of him.

Makes him HUMAN

Sue Eckelberry Jan 23rd 2009 11:52PM

You are right. Who cares. His wife seemed to think he looked good so who else matters.

karie Jan 21st 2009 8:22PM

I totally agree with Ozzy- find something better to do than criticize what the President wore on his big night- the last thing on his mind was "how does my jacket look?" and rightfully so! Find something better to write a long entry on than this.

Joey Jan 21st 2009 8:30PM

This is seriously the single, most idiotic story I have read on Luxist. And there have been a few non-sense ones this...this is just stupid

Judy Jan 22nd 2009 8:06PM

I could not agree more!

Andy Jan 22nd 2009 8:01AM

If you can't get something as simple as a tuxedo right, it shows inattention to detail. There are advisors for every single thing, this shouldn't have been missed.

Mick Jan 23rd 2009 10:53AM

There really isn't 'right' is there? It's just what someone says is right. Who the heck is Flusser anyhow?

Andi Jan 22nd 2009 9:24PM

The same people who are bitching about what he wore were probably bitching a week ago about how much money was being spent on the inauguration...so which is it, hire a stylist or let him be?

Georgia Lee McElhaney Jan 23rd 2009 10:09AM

Andy sounds like either a chauvinist or someone who is jealous. By the way, Flusser doesn't know how to spell.

lo_lo Jan 23rd 2009 10:11PM

Well, now that the price of the inaug. was mentioned, $150 million, maybe they could have afforded perfection.

NYC Gentleman Jan 22nd 2009 12:23AM

Not this makes a difference however, I noticed that Kanye West was wearing a peak lapel tuxedo during his performance at the Youth Ball. Peak lapel tuxedo's have appeared on the red carpet as well in recent months. Eitherway, fashion and doesn't effect the bottomline. Washington D.C. seems to get the job done (somewhat) with the blue suit.

Nicole Jan 22nd 2009 4:53AM

You guys are being ridiculous! He looked GREAT!

I agree with Ozzy, Karie and Andy. I didn't even get past the second paragraph of this article and I really just wanted to tell you that this article is ridiculous! Sure you will generate a lot of comments for such a 'controversial' comment. But if you continue with posts like this, nobody's going to come back to read Luxist anymore cos it'll just end up with a reputation of being a blog with ridiculous opinions and nobody would bother with it.

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