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Quite the weekend and still not over. Mrs. E. is hard at work this Presidents’ Day and I thought that I’d take a moment to think about our best dressed President. As a rule, at least these days, Presidents are sort of “businessman typical.” That may have been the case in the past, too, but business men then weren’t as leery of wearing… a pocket square, for example. And a puff and points folded one at that as Harry S. Truman does here.
Imagine a businessman today sporting a glenplaid doublebreasted suit, with pocket square!
Or washing up at the Little White House in Key West in white shoes and an aloha shirt… President Truman’s background as a haberdasher couldn’t have hurt his sartorial bent.
Imagine a President appearing in public with pince-nez and a bow tie, even without the homburg and cigarette holder that were FDR’s trademarks.
No, today it’s all blue suits, white shirts and red or blue ties. For my money the last Presidents to wear business suits well were George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. You may also say that you can take the President out of Hollywood, but…
(Photo: Charlotte Laws and used without permission. Let me know and I’ll take it down.)
Happy Presidents’ Day.
It’s not President’s Day
or Presidents Day; it’s Presidents’ Day.
Thank you Old School I had intended a different title and neglected to change things. The last “Presidents” was a typo. That’s what I get for rushing about.
As I remember, Truman got his start running the family men’s clothing store.
Maybe that why he had some flair and style in his clothing choices as President!
Usually when you post a picture, you post one of yourself as an example. Where’s your Plaid Sport Coat a la Reagan? I know you’ve got one in the back closet somewhere!
Britt
Britt, http://bit.ly/g89X1Q
Like the cookie cutter answers in debates or the choreographed party conventions, politicians have lost the ability to act and think authentically or originally. This is partly our fault; the American People’s fault. We demand near uniformity from our leaders to the point that any vestige of style or originality melts into a sea blue suits, white shirts and red ties. Harry Truman had problems in his Presidency, but you’d have to admire a guy who’d wear Prince of Whales Plaid with black and white spectators.
Truman is one of my heroes for many reason – including his sartorial excellence.
His wife Bess though used to get so mad at him for wearing his loud Hawaiian shirts while on vacation.
Brian Sheridan
And although he loved her dearly, he never let her dictate. That’s style!