The call came a few days ago. A magazine story on dressing politicians. Right up my alley. I have dressed quite a few politicians and am well aware of their needs. We live in a media world and regardless of what you think of it, packaging is very important for candidates.
In fact, I approached the McCain camp after watching him on television and offered to volunteer my services. Seeing what he was wearing, I knew I could make a huge difference. I even followed up with calls and finally got a very polite, but no thanks reply: "We'll let you know if we can use your services."
A political brush-off. But then I have heard that McCain is very strong willed and probably likes the way he dresses for the camera. That's why he is in politics and I am in fashion.
A few e-mail exchanges and I learned that this article was for Newsweek magazine and was going to be on making over McCain. What could I do to "hipify" him? Talk about coincidences!
First off, I would not "hipify" John McCain. Hip is not a word you use with a man of his age or prestige. There is a vast difference between being stylish and presenting your best self and looking foolish. I don't even think I want the word "hip" associated with any presidential candidate.
Here is what I sent to the writer, with a note saying I respect John McCain and my goal is to help him:
1. His skin and hair are all the same color. A little length and thickener to his hair so it doesn't look plastered down. A very, very little tanning to his skin, just enough to give him some color. There are products that can do this easily.
2. He wears many of the wrong colors. When he wears beige, he looks one color. He must never wear beige. He needs to keep to crisp white shirts with dark coats and dark or colorful ties.
Pale and medium shades of blue shirts would be his best look. This is the most flattering color on TV and will give him good color. All of his suits and sport coats need to be dark, navy, black, or charcoal. No beiges or browns. Lew Wasserman, the mogul of Hollywood, showed me his closet one time, and it was filled with navy sport coats, gray slacks and navy suits, that was it! He knew what denoted power.
In this photo McCain has better color, but a slightly higher cut collar and a tie in a strong color, anything except browns would make a big difference:
3. He must wear his pants in a larger size so they can be belted AT his waist, not below it. Right now they are too small (every man does this, so regardless of his increasing size his waist size remains the same, because he continues to move it down). When he has his coat unbuttoned his pants are currently below his stomach.
4. He needs to button his coat when he stands, leaving the bottom button unbuttoned (so as not to pull across the stomach), and the minute he sits, unbutton all buttons.Nothing looks worse than a buttoned coat when a man sits.
In this christening photo from Wikipedia, you can see his suit is too tight across the midriff, and the front pockets only add bulk where he doesn't need it. A brighter tie would have helped.
When speaking on the Senate floor in 2007 (also from Wikipedia):
Jackets need to be buttoned when standing, unbuttoned when seated. But I do like the monochromatic color of the shirt and tie, it gives him nice color.
5. He needs some altering of his jackets around his neck so they fit better. Right now there is a lot of gap between his shirt collar and his neck. I am aware and sensitive to his injury issues, but a big improvement could be made with proper tailoring.
6. He needs shirt collars that stand slightly higher on the neck. This hides neck issues, framing the face=younger look.
7. He must never wear the gray sweat outfits he has worn. The zip-up, stand-up collar jacket that is soft and molds his back. Because of his posture, it emphasizes his back roundness and makes him look older.
8. He must never wear Members Only jackets. For casual wear he needs long sleeve dress or sport shirts with the sleeves rolled up, khaki pants (no jeans) or casual slacks. In this Obama photo, his shirtsleeves are rolled up and he wears a watch. This is a relaxed, yet important causal look that would work well on McCain.
Al Gore taught us how foolish a Presidential candidate can look in jeans when he wore them on Jay Leno. High cut v-neck sweaters with dress shirts underneath are a good casual look, and by keeping the sweaters in darker, neutral colors they also make one appear slimmer. He is running for President after all!
9. McCain looks great in baseball hats for casual wear. How about some cool, but appropriate sunglasses as well as reading glasses? And an interesting watch with a masculine bracelet that has meaning, like a POW or one with an inspirational saying.
Baseball hats really work, but they need to be worn down lower on the face, right above the eyebrows. This one is too far back. He has the right idea with the sweater under the jacket, but a high cut V-neck sweater would have looked more contemporary and elongating.
10. When talking to a crowd, stop putting his hand by his ear to indicate he can't hear. Just ask them to repeat the question. The gesture is too old.
11. Also, when he lifts both hands up when talking, because of his arm restrictions it looks awkward. A thumbs up would work far better.
12. His smile is great. On a recent ABC Sunday Show with George Stephanopoulos he smiled all the time and it worked for him. In this photo from Biography: that's the smile that makes people listen to what he has to say. Keep away from the stern face.
From biography.com
And so this story will be out in Newsweek soon. I will be one of many commenting on what I would do for McCain. Will his camp remember that I approached him? Will they think, "Maybe we should give her a call?" Or will he keep on campaigning, refusing to admit the importance of image?
If he's a contemporary man with an open mind, he will call. I'll keep you posted.