The Silentist

I know I’ve given President Obama his fair share of licks here for his sartorial stumbles (and praised Michelle’s style sense often in the same sentence), but I’m really not a fan of the “dressed-down” candidate – Republican or Democrat.

Fashion observers say the men in the Republican presidential primary race are setting a new standard for studied sartorial ease. Working the campaign trail in shirt-sleeves and jeans, they’re tossing off their neckties — and with them, a century of tradition.

“Good lord, what have we come to?” says Daniel James Cole, professor of fashion history at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. “I read that Mitt Romney’s wife bought him Gap skinny jeans … We don’t think of jeans as being presidential.”

I get the arguments for the “dressed-down” look, how it’s meant to blend in and make it appear as though you’re just a regular person, but I often feel that it’s so fake and almost-always poorly executed.

I feel that if you’re running for what is possibly the most important job in the world and want the nation and other country’s leaders to take you seriously, then you should, quite frankly, dress for the job you want. You want to be president? Then dress like one.

And the American people should demand better. Our expectations should be raised higher for the person who wants the lead the country. Why should we expect less of our politicians?

The presidency is important. Decorum and respect for the office is something we should hold and adhere to when we choose who should hold it. I think candidates should dress accordingly.