DEMOCRACY AND FASHION

For weeks, if not months, there has been a stir because of High Visit: Obama and company are coming to the Netherlands. As a simple citizen, going to The Hague is nearly impossible, and today half of Amsterdam was hermetically sealed off due to a presidential visit to the Rijksmuseum. Look, all nice and well that nuclear summit, but leave it to me to twist even something so significant into superficialities. Although, it’s not that superficial either, because a poorly chosen jacket, pants, tie, or whatever can stir up a lot of dust.

For example, in 2008, Angela Merkel went to the opening of the new opera in Oslo and wore something other than the much-despised boring suits and dull hair. She chose a seaweed green dress with an enormous neckline. But really enormous. Her bosom is also quite enormous, and soon it was no longer about the opera but only about Merkel's breasts. Such a thing is not accidental; it is intentional. Merkel was consistently criticized for her dusty clothing, and I believe it was a very conscious choice to dress her in such a low-cut dress.

“that nuclear summit is not that superficial either, because a POORLY CHOSEN JACKET PANTS TIE can stir up a lot of dust”

Fidel Castro's clothing is also a reason for a lot of talk and writing. The dictator has been seen in a tracksuit since 2006. And even in a piece from the American brand Nike, which is remarkable given the trade embargo that has been in effect between the US and Cuba for 40 years. It seems that controversial politicians generally have a preference for a fixed pattern regarding clothing. Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea, was always dressed in a khaki-type safari suit, and with sunglasses. And Mao Zedong, also not exactly a sweetheart, could be pictured in a gray or green suit with a high collar – so iconic that people now speak of a ‘Mao suit’. 

But not only dictators are stuck with a certain clothing choice, because actually, every politician in the Western world always wears the same: a crisp white shirt, a dark well-tailored suit, a red or blue tie. And that is not without reason. Such clothing makes a good impression. It looks responsible, neat, civilized, and moreover, it exudes authority. Our Rutte does exactly the same as Obama, keeping away from anything that might come across as eccentric. As Time Magazine once wrote: “You know who wears fancy duds? Divas and dictators.”

I would love to walk along with the clothing advisors of Dutch politicians for once. Because I really think there is a lot to do there. The colors you wear say something about the message you want to convey. And whether you are Obama walking around in the Rijksmuseum or Rutte's name and in our Look of the Day clothes make the man.