“Real” Washington Style: Republicans

This month we are discussing clothing and looking for lessons about the statements our clothes make about us to better organize our own wardrobes. In the last post, we reviewed the current fashion trends of key leaders of the Democratic party. Today, we walk across the aisle to the Republican side.

It was a little difficult to select who to profile as the style-setters for the Republican party. While there are many up-and-coming Republicans, I tried to select those with both influence and a unique fashion point of view to give a good range of styles. I also ended up picking both an old guard and a new guard representative for Republican men and women.

For the men, my choice for the established Republican power broker is Senator John McCain. Senator McCain, age 73, has been a member of the Senate for over 20 years. He most recently ran against President Obama as the Republican presidential candidate in the 2008 election. While he did not win the election, Senator McCain continues to show up as the voice of the Republican party in many media stories. He is a favorite of the press and is known for his candid opinions.

From reviewing numerous photos of Senator McCain, I am struck by a few things about his clothing choices. Senator McCain shares President Obama’s tendency to always be formally dressed in either a suit and tie or dress slacks and a long-sleeved collared shirt. But Senator McCain differs from the President in that he does not seem to adopt a standard “uniform” look. Senator McCain wears a relatively wide variety of colors (at least by Washington standards) and sometimes doesn’t wear a tie under his suit, opting for a chic sweater and collared shirt instead.

Since Senator McCain’s wife, Cindy, is quite the fashion plate, I can’t help but wonder if she is the one responsible for injecting a little style and color into his fashion choices.

However, there is one “uniform” item that Senator McCain can’t seem to live without. . . the pale blue collared shirt. There are very few photos of Senator McCain wearing anything other than a pale blue shirt with his suits. The look is subtle but distinctive. The blue is just a few shades off from white—enough to notice if you are looking closely. The blue looks nice on him and warms up his skin tone a bit.

Is the pale blue collared shirt the Republican trademark? Maybe. If you look to a younger Republican, like Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan, age 40, you do see him wearing the blue collared shirt more often with his suits, but not exclusively. (You also see blue shirts on Democrats and white shirts on Republicans so it is definitely not a hard and fast rule.) Like Senator McCain, Representative Ryan also wears a broader color palate than just blue or black suits. He also favors hints of gold in his ties.  Like President Obama, however, Representative Ryan is very into fitness.  Several articles mention his early morning workout routines with other members of Congress.

For Republican women, I chose two distinctive personalities: former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice, and former Alaska Governor and Vice-Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin.

Condoleezza Rice, age 55, is a true fashion plate. She is tall, slender and elegant and her official photos below could practically be model shoots. While she typically wore darker colored skirted suits for her formal executive duties, she also wore pantsuits and a variety of colors and patterns. She even manages to hold her own in a photo next to Angelina Jolie!

Condoleezza Rice seems to share President Obama’s strategy that having good physical fitness is one of the most important physical appearance strategies. But she doesn’t always share his philosophy on blending in. Sometimes Rice blends in but other times she is a definite standout. She is not afraid to put on bright red lipstick because she knows she can carry it off.

Rice’s look is polished and authoritative but also has a feminine edge. It is a very pretty look without being soft and it is fashionable but not too fashionable. I imagine Rice’s look is one that most political women strive to achieve.

Sarah Palin’s look is quite a bit different. Sarah Palin, age 46, has shaken up the Republican party in a number of ways, including on the fashion front.

First, she wears glasses! You wouldn’t think that wearing glasses would be all that shocking. A lot of people wear glasses. But politicians generally don’t. I am not sure why. Glasses are thought to make a person look more intelligent. Intelligence is a good thing but it must be outweighed for politicians by some other negative factor. Are glasses thought to make a person look weak? Old? Too serious? Unfriendly?

Second, Sarah Palin violates all of the rules on political hair. Her hair is longer than her shoulders. She varies how she wears it. Sometimes it is up, sometimes down, sometimes half up, half down. Her hair often has a casual, windswept look to it. She doesn’t shellac it with hairspray or tame every last flyaway.

Third, Sarah Palin wears eye-catching accessories. Her trademark American flag pin and peep-toe heels while not all that shocking for most Americans are really shocking to the subdued, controlled, formal world of Washington fashion.

And fourth, Sarah Palin is often photographed wearing a wide range of outfits from formal to casual. She is not afraid to let us see her in a T-shirt. Due to her responsibilities as the mother of three minor children, including a 2-year old, she can hardly be expected to wear formal clothing all the time.

Yet for all this shock value, Sarah Palin has really connected with a lot of people. The amount of attention she gets is incredible. It must be a wake-up call to a lot of politicians that perhaps the American public doesn’t always want a perfect façade and is more trusting of a more familiar appearance.

Will Sarah Palin change the world of Washington fashion? So far, the answer appears to be no. If we do start to see an impact, in true Washington fashion, it will be at a glacial pace. Perhaps more politicians will start to wear glasses or you might see a peep-toe shoe here and there.

So, if you are looking for Republican style tips they are mostly the same as Democratic style tips. If there are any differences, they are probably: 1) Don’t get too drab in your formal wear. A bit of bright color and pattern or a unique accessory keeps things fresh. and 2) Break the political fashion rules sometimes. Wear a sweater instead of a tie or wear glasses.

What do you associate with Republican style? Who are the best dressed Republicans? Are there distinct fashion differences between Democrats and Republicans? Please share in the comments.