Like him or not, George Herbert Walker Bush is a Massachusetts born Yale man who shops at J.Press, a guy with taste in clothes similar to my own, so I'm going to go ahead and use him here as a sartorial example.Lately around the blogs I've heard many people wishing to see the President in an Oxford Cloth Button Down Collared shirt. I disagree. Button down collars, as much as we all may love them, are inherently more casual than straight collars. After all, they do have their origins in the world of sport. The same is true of cuffed trousers. While they may indeed be appropriate for many business settings, they are not appropriate in a more formal setting. If the office of President of the United States is not a formal setting, then what is?
George knew this. In the photo above, he's wearing a 3/2 sack suit with 2 button cuffs, likely from J.Press. His shirt is straight collared and I'm willing to bet there are no cuffs on his trousers. I'm also willing to bet that he spent much of his professional life prior to his Vice-Presidency wearing button downs and cuffs, but switched when his position required it.
Personally I wear button downs and cuffed pants almost exclusively, but if I were the boss I'd reconsider. A President in a button down collar to me is a man who doesn't understand the finer points of proper dress.
The little things make all the difference.
p.s. Reagan's suit is too big in the shoulders and the sleeves are too long, and its brown. He looks like somebodies uncle at a wedding.
