A hot wrinkled mess

Comments

6 responses to “A hot wrinkled mess”

1. 

   nicolette

   September 1, 2009

   dress for the job you want, not the job you have

2. 

   J.M. Prince

   August 31, 2009

   Grumble cubed: The pettiness of the issue with the National press is still something serious to consider & amazing to watch & witness. Here’s a florid commentary on the supposedly(!?) ‘disgraceful display’ of Michelle Obama’s legs (& nates presumably): Via the DailyKos commenting on the atrocities in the WP:

   http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/8/30/773431/-Fashion,-Journalism,-Shame

   As for one of our fav local pols trying to relive a sort of rumpled Rumspringa, I’ve got little idea. I think most of the press here will be oblivious, mostly. And again on this point perhaps happily so. But it could also be only a matter of time before they might too.

   So your points are well taken. Me, I’m not exactly sure what to do about it either. Knowing this sometimes has the immediate & direct hazardous effect where I might even mention something to the principal in question too. Which just about never works either. From my vantage point the ‘staffing’ question is moot too, mostly now they’re younger and just don’t know, or don’t know what to say.

   And again I’ll tell anyone that somehow the ‘old & new’ schools (in candidates & reasonable supporters) have to co-exist together & simply get along too.

   And while we do indeed notice & appreciate these things, it’s not for nothing that I regularly sit down to dinner at the finer restaurants in & around ATL and notice that I’m often dining with a comely ‘hot wrinkled mess’ and we’re a pair. JMP

3. 

   Juliana

   August 31, 2009

   JMP- I’m not going to disagree about the pettiness of this issue, except to say that when you are running to be a leader statewide-it’s sort of the ultimate job interview.

   In the same way you wouldn’t show up looking like you just crawled out of bed, you shouldn’t show up at events seeking support as such. It sends a message like body language that you really didn’t much thought into the event or you’d rather be napping in that outfit.

   I’m not sure if this person’s “style” has been thus in the distant past- and frankly I don’t care-he’s running now and presenting his skills and experience as that above others; yet visually he’s a mess. I’m so distracted by it-I can’t listen to what the heck he’s prattling on about.

   He’s often sitting next to his opposition who frankly manage to look pulled together, socks matching and sitting up straight, oy with the bad posture later, looking ahead and not at their navel.

   After the efforts of Team Obama to register new voters-it’s likely that these folks don’t remember or don’t care about the old school rumpled past.

   There are fantastic new fabrics, as has been mentioned, and a number of ways to avoid continuing to look this way.

   I don’t think it’s too much to ask for, when you have the means to afford a dry cleaner and decent basic attire.

   I’m not talking Ermenegildo Zegna, Paul damn Stewart at the mall for petesake can hook you up!

   Grumble…

4. 

   J.M. Prince

   August 30, 2009

   You know, generally good overall advice here on ‘dressage’ for the novice. We were discussing the same in passing @ the GADCC Dinner. But for some candidates? Rumpled IS their style. And has been sort of a ‘comfortable’ hallmark for, well sometimes decades. (No names please). Now some of this possibly harkens way back to the ‘rough & ready’ period of the ‘wool hat boys’ of yore & the Talmadges (although some may recall them as generally spiffy dressers too).

   Me, I say if you’ve got a known ‘style’ that’s worked for you generally well & serviceably in the past, you really should stick by it. With a few ‘updates’ perhaps. This was one of the ‘behind the scenes’ debates VP Gore was having with his staff in & before & during the 2000 election & then picked up on by the claim by some in the idiotic press that he did not really dress like an ‘alpha male’, and hence needed some ‘instruction & consult’ on how to do so. No really. It was that silly. Literally Thousands of words & perhaps even 100’s of articles in the miserable MSM spilled on this deeply foolish & nonsensical topic. Me? I always thought start to finish he really dressed like he always had. It was pretty much ‘standard’ Al Gore if anyone was paying attention. (They weren’t mainly.) But the press made an object of saying he’d had to have ‘media’ consultants (principally, supposedly Naomi Wolf) advise him on ‘looking the part’ of a President. I thought then & now he did just fine the way he was. (And of course he went on to win the election in a squeaker, but lost in the USSC, which infamously stopped the ballot counting in FL to secure the Presidency for Bush). But it was somehow a huge topic & focus of attention for the profoundly silly press. For many weeks on end. (See the incomparable archives of the excellent Dailyhowler.com for proof!)

   http://dailyhowler.com/

   Then Google there: ‘Al Gore’s Clothes’. You’ll be surprised I’m betting!

   So yes, generally decent advice. But sometimes hard to follow when on the run. Several changes per day are no longer practical when we no longer have faithful ‘manservants’ & butlers, and no longer leisurely travel regularly by train with huge valises & mammoth fold out wardrobes either. Or enjoy the services of ‘shoe shine boys’ at every station either. It’s a much faster pace of life generally. Few have the time for all the finer details, so they wind up ‘winging’ it and hoping people focus on the words rather than the scenery.

   But then again I’ve always had a soft spot for the ‘rumpled style’ too. Being about the only style I could ever be accused of aspiring to. I think many candidates could do better. Still, I always think that time spent on improving a standard stump speech or having a better sense of what is needed & desired as far as policy recommendations are concerned is probably far more important. But then again, experience has evidently taught me little here! JMP

5. 

   Juliana

   August 29, 2009

   Excellent advice! Thanks Double M

6. 

   DoubleM

   August 29, 2009

   Two tips from a political road warrior:

   1. Wrinkle-free cotton is your friend.

   2. Nothing makes you feel better than a fresh shirt, so a good rule of thumb is to change your shirt after every two events. (After every event in the summers, especially below the gnat line.)

   Extra bonus tip: See above about shirts – also apply to socks. Not so much for fashion’s sake, but it’ll make your feet feel better.