Is 5'7" John McCain Dressing For Defeat? (PICTURES)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Although I like to think I have fairly good aesthetic sense when it comes to picking my own attire, if I ever decide to run for Prez, I'd recruit the author, Alan Au, onto my team in a New York minute.
Excellent analysis that, if taken to heart by the McCain Camp (which it won't be), would translate into votes for sure.
Question to Alan: What about his color choices?
As someone who is a slender 5'7"... finding perfectly fitting close is near impossible. Dress pants do not exist in my size. They always have to be tailored down, which ends up to mixed effect. Shoes? Very hard to find dress shoes in my size. Most lines do not make them small enough. I look at those pictures of McCain and I see some of me in there. The shirt, the coat, the pants... yep same problems. Cut the man some slack it isn't easy shopping for someone who is 5'7", most stores are dead ends with nothin.
That said, you would think someone of his means could get stuff custom made.
Mahkno
Obama supporter so far.
Yeah I can spell...lo
He doesn't care, he's going to drop out of the race.
Interesting theory ..Kerry was taller than Bush but diebold helped him out.......
Perhaps McCain's advisors have told him to wear "off the rack" so we'll feel like he's one of us...
Bush already let out the secret re: rolled up sleeves automatically denotes "workin' hard.. like Brownie did during Katrina" Wonder if Cindy has brow-beat any designers into giving her free clothes, ala Nancy Regan?
Why he does not have an image consultant to help him with clothing is .... mind-blowing. Most executives have at least had a consultation with an image consultant, regarding style, cut and color of clothing that makes them look good. As a wife, Cindy must have tried, perhaps he would not listen to her advice. They can certainly afford a tailor, they have huge credit cards bills each month, why not $1000 here and there for a custom-fitted suit? Image is important. It may not be "fair", but it is.
This was very informative article - I am heading out the salvation
army now to look for a better fit.
Not to defend this guy, but could the shoulders of the shirts appear ill-fitting because of his shoulder damage and the way he has to carry himself?
I mean, he's got SO MUCH going against him anyway....
A suit from a really good tailor could make Quasimodo look presidential.
I'm thinking about starting a group called Short People for Obama! I'm 5'4" with baggy attire, but I would never vote for McCain. Just wait until the debates. Obama will stand head over heels about McCain in more ways than one!!!
With all of Cindy's money, it's hard to understand why he doesn't just get his clothes custom made.
Maybe McCain should make elevator shoes part of his "platform.
No, no, no, Cindy doesn't look like a first lady AT ALL. Except for Michelle Obama, all first ladies have looked like the "little woman" beside the great guy. But Cindy McCain looks (appearences only)
like she is the one running for president. She has a powerful stature about her, maybe it's all
that money and those 10 houses she owns, or better yet - maybe anyone might look good when standing next to John McCain.
Cant wait to see Barak on the Podiums against this penguin.
He probably WAS 5'9. My mother was 5'11 and between age and
bone shrinkage (osteo something or other) she is now 5'5.
She is 71.
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.
i think this time around only one of the debates will be done standing, the organizers have done mccain a favor by having the candidates seated.
Maybe, maybe not. I have a very close relative (female) who was 5' 11", has osteoporosis, is 72 years old and still about 5'10". And she is very slender and looks really quite "hot" for her age, from all the comments she gets.
That's because she is slender. She doesn't have the weight that makes many older people shorter.
As I get older, I wear comfortable clothes & I'm not looking for a fashion plate when it comes to the presidency.
Reine, not a fashion plate, but an executive who looks "put together"; ill-fitting clothing are distracting and take away from an image of power. He needs to appear powerful when he is interacting with foreign leaders. He is not a poor man, Reine. Or did you forget about his $520 loafers?
Neither am I, and I'm older than McCain, but I see the frailty of age in John, sad to say. I can see nothing that a tailored wardrobe could possibly do for him.
The problem here with McCain's size and too-big suits is that all Republicans have actually shrunk over the last seven and a half years. Bush's many failures have had a "shrinkage" effect on the GOP. I saw Limbaugh at an airport recently, he's like two feet tall. Lindsey Graham - 3' 4" in high heels (which is all the time). And Cheney has disappeared all together.
Dingoangst now that's funny -
That Lindsey Graham thing was especially funny.
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