Skinny jeans for Gordon Brown? Platform shoes for Nicolas Sarkozy? This advice from Brüno, Sacha Baron Cohen’s fashionista alter ego, might seem outré for most men, let alone politicians. But the way world leaders dress does matter – this summer, perhaps, more than any other.
According to a June poll by market researchers Harris Interactive, people in the US, Britain, Spain, Italy and France believe strongly that in the face of the economic crisis politicians should waive their holiday. Meanwhile, the UK pressure group 38 Degrees, which monitors the working habits of British MPs, has launched a “Wish you were here” campaign, urging followers to take photographs of MPs they spot on holiday.
No wonder Brown has been urged by aides to ditch the beige jacket he wore during his summer break at the Suffolk coastal town of Southwold, and in Norfolk, last year. While some admired Brown’s casual style, others suspected sartorial spin, with a Number 10 aide recently admitting: “It was an embarrassing attempt at dressing down which did not work because it was just not Gordon”. Instead, for his summer trip to the Lake District, Brown has been advised to dress in “ his own unique style”. Expect pinstripes at Scafell Pike.
As the debate over Brown’s wardrobe illustrates, politicians are under scrutiny on holiday as much as at work. “The trick these days when it comes to politicians and casual clothing is always to look professional,” says Lyn Paolo, the creator of Josiah “Jed” Bartlet’s wardrobe in the television show The West Wing . “It is a fine line politicians tread – not least because, if they shed their jackets, they change their public silhouette. This is why Gordon Brown is wise to keep his on.”
David Cameron (pictured), the leader of the Conservative party, is adept at creating a sartorial bridge between parliament and private time, according to Timothy Everest, London tailor to politicians of all persuasions. “Last year in Cornwall, Cameron looked very comfortable in chinos and a casual shirt,” he says. And though George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, may have made a political faux pas last summer by holidaying on a Russian oligarch’s boat off Corfu, sartorially he was spot-on in flannel trousers and a casual jacket.
“Nicolas Sarkozy also manages to look youthful – but not like mutton dressed as lamb – in jeans, a khaki shirt and aviator sunglasses,” Everest says, “though his beach shorts are a little long. As for Silvio Berlusconi, he seems above public opinion, at least in Italy, and can wear what he likes.”
Roberto Girombelli of Duca Sartoria, the Milanese tailor that has clothed the Bush family, as well as Italy’s political class, advises world leaders to wear polo shirts with a horizontal pinstripe on vacation since the collar and stripe evoke the formality of business attire. And despite pressure on politicians to wear domestically manufactured clothes, Girombelli points out that President Barack Obama wears Turin-made PT01 casual trousers, while Sarkozy favours Boglioli linen jackets from Brescia. It’s the detail and finish of a political wardrobe that matter more than provenance, he believes. “A round collar is best for shirts,” he says, “while colours like light green and light beige are good, and brown or blue is right for shoes and belts. Never black.” The West Wing’s Paolo agrees. “Bartlet’s polo shirts were always dark green or navy blue, military colours for the commander-in-chief,” she notes.
“Shorts should be a length that finishes just below the knee,” Girombelli continues. Sir Christopher Meyer, former British ambassador to the US, believes that for a president, “Bermuda shorts, a T-shirt or polo shirt, along with penny loafers without socks, is the default seaside attire”.
“Sure, Obama has the physique for the beach,” Meyer adds, referring to the famous emerging-from-the-surf pictures of the president taken last December in Hawaii.
Of course, it is swimwear that is a politician’s greatest holiday sartorial challenge, as Tony Blair, then prime minister, discovered in 2005 when he was widely mocked for sporting Vilebrequin trunks on Caribbean beaches. When seaside photographs of Sir John Sawers, the new head of Britain’s intelligence agency MI6, appeared on Facebook last month, David Miliband, the foreign secretary, announced during a television interview that it was not a “state secret that Sawers wore Speedos”.
According to Nick Brooke, owner of the Sunspel underwear and swimwear brand, “a half-inch above the knee and a neat trim cut is probably the most statesman-like style” for a bathing suit.
According to London shoe specialist John Rushton, there is, however, one item that has no acceptable permutation for politicians on holiday: flip-flops. Any self-respecting spin doctor would agree.
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Details
www.boglioli.it
www.ducasartoria.com
www.johnrushtonshoes.com
www.pt01.it
www.sunspel.com
www.speedo.com
www.timothyeverest.co.uk
www.vilebrequin.com