Savor it, Mr. Ryan. Most V.P.’s are forgotten before the next election.
My editor asked me to write a critique of the two men’s attire on the day of the announcement in Virginia, thinking there might be something in their casual look.http://www.chromeheartseyeglass.com/chrome-hearts-jewelry-chrome-hearts-bracelet-c-1_4.html
The idea of politicians deliberating over what message their clothing conveys enchants editors. They tend to overestimate the effects of a generic blazer or give too much credit to mysterious back-room handlers. It amounts to an idealization of the image-making process, a hoax. In truth, there are no real differences of style and message in the clothing of the current presidential candidates, which is too bad.
But one thing bugged me about Mr. Ryan’s appearance on the day of the announcement in Virginia, on the symbolic deck of a battleship. He had on a blazer with an open-neck shirt and dark trousers; Mr. Romney was in his familiar shirt sleeves and a tie. Polished but relaxed. Yet if Mr. Ryan was chosen to bring youth and vigor and a kind of Ayn Rand boldness to the G.O.P., as the commentators kept saying, then his jacket was killing it.http://www.chromeheartseyeglass.com/chrome-hearts-jewelry-chrome-hearts-pendant-c-1_5.html
So much for his lethal six-pack. He was swimming in his coat, like Tom Hanks in “Big” when he becomes a kid again.
I asked my colleague Bruce Pask, the men’s fashion editor of T: The New York Times Style Magazine, for his thoughts on Mr. Ryan’s sizing problem. In an e-mail, he said: “Like many American suit wearers, I think he suffers from the misconception that the size a guy wears directly correlates with his masculinity. In their minds, being a 42 is more manly than a 40. And yet what actually happens when a guy wears something too big is the obvious: he looks smaller, dwarfed by shoulders that are too big, a shirt collar that is too roomy, lapels that are too wide.”
Bruce added: “A suit should properly contain the body. It’s a very empowering thing to wear a jacket that hugs the torso, a shape that you fill completely and appropriately.”
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Instead of boasting about his insane workout, perhaps Mr. Ryan should get a skilled tailor, or challenge campaign aides to pay closer attention to tangible details rather than abstractions like whether or not the candidates appeal to nonrich, nonwhite voters.
For symmetry’s sake, there is always the example of Gary Cooper in “The Fountainhead,” but the dashing Cooper, who supposedly had tailors and shirtmakers in every stylish port, is too high a mark. Mr. Ryan could look at the last Republican presidential contender, John McCain, whose suits and blazers always fit him properly.
