Maybe it's because I just couldn't get into the
Tyra Banks-as-Michelle-Obama stunt over at Harper's Bazaar. Or maybe it's because I like fantasizing about First Families in first-class outfits. And then dressing up paper dolls that look like the president's family members in paper representations of those outfits. Tom Tierney seems to be the man for the perennial job, cooking up quasi-realistic portrayals of the presidents and families and the attendant wardrobes. (Adolescent Chelsea here is especially charming -- history has been good to her, despite McCain's joke that the nation's newspapers thought was
"too vicious to print." She looks great in '08, that's for sure.) I was preparing to spend my afternoon cutting out D.I.Y. dress patterns so I could play dress up with Michelle and Cindy. This was before I realized that the good people at Dover Publications and Tierney have
already developed prototypes of the candidates for their paper doll books. They haven't showed us the goods on the wives and kids yet, but I am assured that they've developed authentic patterns for outfits actually worn on the campaign trails for both candidates and mates.
Now that Hillary's out (and with her, our chance for another Clintonian paper doll book...for now), I can muse on the candidates' outfits without fearing that I'm actually a sexist.
My Recommendations for Obama
Assuming that these are finished versions, Obama is svelte and old-Hollywood glamorous:
The thing about Obama is that his paper doll book is just going to rule a lot more than McCain's. It's not just his pretty mug and relaxed stance here --
Esquire,
GQ, and
Vibe, and a slew of other fashion and news publications have either put him on the cover or called him out as a best-dressed. Obama has obviously got a great tailor on his side, so the American electorate isn't always aware that he's as thin as a rail. His suits fit him perfectly, and that's one electable trait.
To be included: a traditional but slim-cut suit with the option to remove the tie; a black, not navy suit; swim trunks to evoke Hawaiian high tide vacations; shirts with rolled-up sleeves; khaki pants
Cut it out: the goofy Harvard sweatshirts that
Harper's Bazaar fantasized he and Michelle wore to bed at night (full sweatsuits?! What, the White House doesn't have central heating? I mean, even if they do...we're keeping this a chiefly daytime affair).
My Recommendations for McCainMcCain, well, ah...is it just that the tuxedo is ill-fitting? Or has the artist just made him really old? Why's he clutching his fists? McCain could also really use some contrapposto here for a more natural balance:
Nervous, Maverick?
The clothing illustrator has to be aware of the sartorial struggle this one's going to be. Just look how much less comfortable McCain looks in his tux. That expression isn't going to change once he's in Bermuda shorts, either.
To be included: straight-up power suit, with solid shirts and striped ties to switch up the look; a casual sweater (to layer underneath suit jackets, and for him to remind us of our grandfather); a V-neck sweater over a white T-shirt (to
commemorate that awesome time that McCain got pissed at his handlers for convincing him to wear this "gay" look); one wide tie; a leather bomber jacket; golf garb
Fantastic Man is a "gentlemen's style journal" that suggests that life doesn't truly begin until 30, clothes are things worn by people and not by hangers and/or mammals that might as well be hangers, and that these clothes are personal, influenced by the season but dictated by the wearer. The magazine starts with the man and his personality and maps personal style from that essential starting point. What you end up with is a magazine about men in clothes, not models in fashion.
