Alan Au

Alan Au

Posted: August 15, 2008 06:51 AM

Is 5'7" John McCain Dressing For Defeat? (PICTURES)

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There has not been a President in The White House who has stood shorter than 5'8" since President McKinley took office in 1897. At 5'7" John McCain is up against more than just 6'3" Barack Obama, he's up against an American population that has consistently demanded that their guy be the bigger guy.

Does McCain seem to care that 10 of the last 15 elections were taken by a taller candidate? His dress sense indicates not. Instead of styling himself in a way that compliments his height, McCain repeatedly dresses for defeat, sporting styles and outfits that accentuate his short stature.

Had he been campaigning in the era before the ubiquity of television he might have better luck. 11 of our first 25 Presidents were under 5'8", whereas zero of the remaining 17 have stood shorter than 5'9". While the camera may be reputed to add 10lbs, McCain and his style team seems to be banking on the fact that it will also add several inches.

With his oversized suits, grandfatherly sweaters and shirts that swim around his sleeves McCain's sartorial blunders are often magnified by his impeccably styled wife Cindy, who does dress like she belongs in The White House. Look at any un-posed long shot of McCain and his entourage. Can you find him? No. Try looking for Cindy first, then for him in proximity.

In a world dominated by visual images, McCain has the fortunate opportunity to have what every shorter actor wants on camera... a female costar that can make him look taller. McCain can look at least 5'9" standing next to his lovely wife, if dressed in the right wardrobe. However, all too often it just looks like he's trying to ride her coattails into the White House.

With all that said, it's easy to criticize generalities, so below I have provided a spotters guide to McCain's fashion faux pas. Enjoy.

2008-08-14-1.jpg
Most of his shirts fit like this--and they're all too big. The shoulders are too wide, the body is too big and the sleeves are too full. It makes him look smaller and sickly like he's lost too much weight.

2008-08-14-2.jpg
John's McCain's jackets tend to be too big. It's unlikely it's because he needs it for his gut. They're just poor choices. The shoulders are too big and the sleeves are way too long. Look at how his sleeves are folded just to have it at the right length.

2008-08-14-3.jpg
The shoulders on this suit are too wide, making him look smaller, and his sweaters make him look like a grandfather, not a presidential candidate. The sweater says "I need to keep my old bones warm, even in the dead heat of summer." If he's truly in need of a little warmth, a 3-piece suit would be a better choice. He can stay warm and still look more presidential. A vest is a much better option.

2008-08-14-4.jpg
John McCain's suit jackets are too long. He clearly should be wearing a short size, not a regular size. The longer jacket and lower button stance is too low for his frame. Not to mention the jacket is still too wide in the shoulders.

A more suitable cut for his frame and stature would be more of a trimmer fit. It would elongate his body and make him look taller and a trimmer cut would also make him not look so stout. A man can be short and proportioned, but McCain's clothes currently do not reflect that.

2008-08-14-6.jpg

John McCain can also find better fitting casual wear that won't make him look so wide. Beyond the fact that McCain eeds to dress sharper because he's the shorter candidate, he also needs to step it up because he has a beautiful slender wife. Until he dresses better, she steals every shot they are in together. After all, they should look like the first couple already. She already looks like the first lady.

Alan Au is Marketing Director & Vice President of Jimmy Au's for Men 5' 8" and Under in Beverly Hills, California.

There has not been a President in The White House who has stood shorter than 5'8" since President McKinley took office in 1897. At 5'7" John McCain is up against more than just 6'3" Barack Obama, he's...
There has not been a President in The White House who has stood shorter than 5'8" since President McKinley took office in 1897. At 5'7" John McCain is up against more than just 6'3" Barack Obama, he's...
 
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- Kaos911 I'm a Fan of Kaos911 5 fans permalink

Obama dresses and speaks well and the MSM calls HIM an elitist. Now what will you call McCain if he ever gets it together?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:07 PM on 08/16/2008

They will call him well-dressed of course.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:25 AM on 08/17/2008
- sushi27 I'm a Fan of sushi27 12 fans permalink

McCain has a Napoleon Complex, defined by Wikipedia as

"The Napoleon complex is named after French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The conventional wisdom is that Napoleon overcompensated for his short height by seeking power, war and conquest."

Wow, that doesn't sound like McCain does it!!!!! Let's see power (wants to be commander in chief) war (warmonger - Iraq, Iran & now Georgia) and conquest (we must win at all cost).

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 05:37 PM on 08/16/2008
- donkat I'm a Fan of donkat 2 fans permalink

He does look frumpy and old. Anything but presidential, that's for sure. Clothes don't always make the man but he definitely isn't dressing for the office he thinks he has a chance of occupying. We do know he could look better (how could he look worse?) - it just seems he doesn't care to.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:53 PM on 08/16/2008

Hey neighbors, take a good hard look at this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGfGtC4Ldms&feature=related

THIS WHAT YOU REALLY WANT, CAUSE I DON'T!!!!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:46 PM on 08/16/2008

Well, if he's anything like my husband, you talk till doomsday about looking 'better' and he'd still wear that 15-year old 'Akira' tee-shirt and old chinos with a hole in the knee to dinner... ;-)

Some guys simply aren't interested in what they look like. Or, they've discovered over a lifetime a 'look' that runs a fine line between being comfortable and not looking like PigPen from Snoopy....

Sometimes you can gently lead them in another direction, and sometimes they go wiggy with the 'interference'. J McC strikes me as a man who knows what he likes, and no one's going to tell him any different

And, no matter what you think of his politics, BHO is a clothes horse.

To quote Will Smith in MIB
"know the difference between us?
I make this look GOOD"

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:32 PM on 08/16/2008
- MizLiz I'm a Fan of MizLiz 61 fans permalink
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Sizeist? Huh? The fact is, the old turkey won't listen to any advice...I'm sure all these things have been pointed out to him. You know what he's doing? He wants to appear "a man of the people", someone "just like us"....you know, like Bush did, putting on the cowboy twang, and pretending he's just a down-home good ol' boy. The problem is, this stuff seems to work on the ignorant yahoos who vote.

Funny, isn't it? The guy's rolling around in money, expensive homes, $520 loafers, etc. trying to look poor, and here's Obama, from humble beginnings, looking sharp & cool in anything he wears...he's the one being called "elitist". Weird world.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:21 PM on 08/16/2008
- shengirl I'm a Fan of shengirl 10 fans permalink

If he refuses to listen to any advice about clothes, what if he gets in the WH and refuses to listen to any advice on the economy, or Irag, or Russia/Georgia, or...?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:49 PM on 08/16/2008
- ianrthorpe I'm a Fan of ianrthorpe 8 fans permalink

I find this article offensively sizeist.

What would the reaction be if somebody pointed out that none of the previous 42 Presidents have been of a darker skin tone than Creme Chantilly? Obama even put the words of a racist comment in John McCain's mouth and then whined about it although he himself rather than his opponent was author of the allegedy racist remark.

And you think this guy is qualified to be President of the united States. The Chinese and Russians must be rubbing their hands with glee.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:50 PM on 08/16/2008
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OK... I'll say it: John McCain is too short to be President. The original intent of the Founders as to have tall Presidents. That's why they put up George Washington, a man who stood over 6 feet tall. I'm sure that Justice Scalia would agree.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:41 PM on 08/16/2008

WHERE was it written that the intent of our Founding Fathers was to have tall presidents? James Madison was 5'4" and John Adams was 5'7" - just to name 2. I don't care about the height of our president, I do care about his competence. Furthermore, if you want to talk about the INTENT of the Founding Fathers.... they were the ones who founded this country on Christian principals making "In God We Trust" our national motto.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:53 AM on 08/17/2008

Those weird-fitting jackets look strikingly familiar...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/02/29/ahmadinejad.jpg

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:05 PM on 08/16/2008
- fcsakes I'm a Fan of fcsakes 92 fans permalink
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He's just trying to look like what he imagines the "common" folk look. So he looks like one of us, people who can't afford a few thousand for a suit, even though we know, oh so well, he can.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:32 AM on 08/16/2008
- Crowhaul I'm a Fan of Crowhaul 13 fans permalink
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He's THAT short?? Ahhh, the short man's complex goes toward explaining why he is so eager to bomb Iran and kill Iranians.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:24 AM on 08/16/2008

Forgot to provide the link :0)

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/bodymeas.htm

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:30 AM on 08/16/2008

It always cracks me up when people "think" that the average height of Americans is "around 6ft".

The average height is 5' 9".

I always liked this quote

How long should a man's legs be? Long enough to touch the ground.
J. D. Salinger

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:32 AM on 08/16/2008
- JulieSA I'm a Fan of JulieSA 165 fans permalink
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Right, but,a slight correction, that's the average height for males, not all Americans. And thanks for the link.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:07 PM on 08/16/2008
- infinity I'm a Fan of infinity 2 fans permalink
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Yes, also why 6 footer GBush started the Iraq war. Enough with the pop psychology

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 04:35 PM on 08/16/2008

Where did you get that dress, it's awful, and those shoes and that coat, jeeeeez!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:07 AM on 08/16/2008
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"Surely ,John McCain, you can get some better-fitting clothes...."
"Yeah, but I need to look kinda poor,y'know, kinda 'Wal-Marty',like most Americans...and stop calling me Shirley!"

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:19 AM on 08/16/2008
- ZimboChick I'm a Fan of ZimboChick 95 fans permalink
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lol

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:51 AM on 08/16/2008
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I want those five minutes of my life back!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:58 AM on 08/16/2008

Or maybe he's like me (and a lot of other Americans) who buy their clothes at thrift stores, where close is good enough.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:54 AM on 08/16/2008
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HAH! With Ferragamo shoes? NO chance!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 10:52 AM on 08/16/2008
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Net worth: in excess of $100,000,000
Owns: ten homes
Personal Transportation: $12,600,000 jet

Thrift stores??? He shops in THRIFT STORES!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 06:44 PM on 08/16/2008
- infinity I'm a Fan of infinity 2 fans permalink
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Yo, Alan: if physical stature and sartorial correctness are such key elements in voters' decisions, please explain to us how McCain beat Mitt Romney, you know, the tall guy, great hair, impeccably dressed and groomed?

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:33 AM on 08/16/2008
- BaileyWo I'm a Fan of BaileyWo 11 fans permalink

This is obviously a job for Queer Eye for the Old Guy.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:02 AM on 08/16/2008
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