By: Izzy B.
The Presidential election was underway last week and both parties were off to a good start. Republican Mitt Romney against our current President Barak Obama. Both sides had very good opinions and focus points to win over each state and each voter. However, there was more than just the opinions and the plans for the country that the voter notices. Would you vote for someone who looked like a slob or a bum? Probably not. Appearance was a very important factor in this year’s election. Critics have not been afraid to voice their opinions on the candidates clothing and how they feel that will impact the way voters viewed them. It is important to acknowledge factors such as the fitting of the suit or the color the first lady is wearing. It shows responsibility and power. The candidate who dresses the best, was sure to win over more hearts of the voters. But of course, other factors play a role in the end.
For example, when we look back at the presidential debate we recognize that each candidate is wearing a suit. However, how they wear it matters. According to Bruce Pask: mens fashion editor of T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Romney rolls up his sleeves, showing that he is laid back which also appeals to the middle and lower classes. However, when we look at his running mate, Paul Ryan, Pask says that his suits are too big which make him look low maintenance and lazy also “in his mind, 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…” However, according to Emily Barnett: Parsons School of Design assistant professor, Romney and Ryan made smart choices when picking out their styles. She says “Romney’s choice of diagonals was smart because diagonals imply a strong sense of movement.” What a candidate wears matters, whether voters realize it or not. They know they want a strong President and he needs to be professionally dressed. But patterns and styles aren’t the only thing that makes up the “look” of a candidate.
Colors play a very important role in the appearance of a person. According to a study on color psychology, Red is one of the strongest colors a person can show off. It symbolizes strength, evokes a powerful emotion of passion and energy and symbolizes blood, war, and pride. Blue is also one of the stronger colors. It is usually worn to symbolize creativity and intelligence. It is a color of loyalty, strength, wisdom and trust. Studies also show that it has a calming effect on the psyche. We often see President Obama wearing blue to symbolize his years of experience in the office and his loyalty to the country. In the very first debate, we saw Obama wearing a blue tie with a muted pattern which fell in line with his more laid back performance. We can also look at the color of each political party. Usually Republicans are represented by the color red as Democrats are represented by blue. We often see each candidate exhibiting these colors in their campaigns and mostly in their clothing choices.
We often see each side wearing mutual colors as well. The color black symbolizes power and portrays one of class elegance and wealth. Both candidates wear black suits and show these qualities very well. White is also a common color advertised in politics. It is often associated with being pure, clean, fresh, and good.
We don’t often think of the clothing someone wears as important to a decision we make. But as we look around in today’s society we see that we are all judgmental on just that. It matters on what someone wears. We are not going to vote for someone who wears their suits too big to look like a slob; or a candidate who rolls up his sleeves too often. The candidate who dressed the best surly appealed more to the voters, even if they didn’t realize it. It’s the little details that really count.
"Mr. President, who are you wearing? - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/15/living/presidential-fashion/index.html?hpt=hp_bn11>.
"Color Psychology, what do colors mean and represent." Web design agency that builds user friendly sites. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. <http://www.digitalskratch.com/color-psychology.php>.
"Post's Sharpest Pundit Is Its Fashion Writer - Tags: BLOGS PRESIDENTIAL candidates." EBSCO Online Library Search Engine Directory - Find Articles, News, Periodicals and Other Premium Online Content. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/excerpts/29327766/posts-sharpest-pundit-fashion-writer>.
Izzy,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a very important point in the election process. The way that a person is presented is important because, like you said, they represent our country. When watching the Presidential Debates Romney was always wearing red and Obama was always wearing blue. I also found that Romney was wearing a stripped tie and Obama was wearing a solid color tie. I also noticed that the debate in October, both women were wearing pink, most likely for breast cancer awareness. It is interesting to see the correlation between the two!
As we talked about in class, we questioned if the presidential election was a popularity contest or not. Obviously, if one candidate looks better than the other it will give them the upper hand. I believe as well that it is important for candidates to dress presentable, to represent our country and themselves. I think it is also very helpful when they represent their colors, either blue or red. Also, I remember talking about when Obama was wearing a purple tie and that represented both parties, and it was good to see that not everything is a competition and we can all get together after a tragedy like the Hurricane.
ReplyDeleteThe answer is simple. The world is corrupt enough to be revolutionized around physical attributes rather than knowledge. I wrote a paper on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley last year which relates exactly to this topic. In the book, the creature was shunned from society because of the way he looked and the same applies to our society. The way you look and the presentation you give is the impression someone gets from you. You can have average intelligence and be better looking and dressed nicer for an interview and still get a job over someone else who is clearly more qualified. But, that's the world works. We focus more physical attributes rather than personality.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this! It's crazy to see how nothing has changed, and everything has changed with passing time. Starting after the first televised presidential debate in 1960, looks and appearance have always mattered. I always found myself observing the color tie that each presidential hopeful was wearing. If Obama was wearing red, he was feeling nice. If Romney was wearing red, well he was ready to protect his party. Unfortunately today, we are a world of physical attributes and appearance, but I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. So while you're brushing up on the Constitution, you should probably brush up on your style as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post! Definitely different than all the other blogs so far so it was nice to read! Anyways it was cool to see all the different perspectives. I was funny to see how just because someone rolled up their sleeves or if Paul Ryan wore a bigger suit some people thought he looked more like a man while others believed it actually made him look smaller! But appearance is a big part of being the president and even just a normal everyday person because if you show up to a job interview in shorts your most likely not gonna get the job compared to someone who looks and acts like they know what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is very important how to dress. You can tell a whole lot about a person just on the way they dress. I'm not saying you know everything about but you can get a good idea about what they are about. A good example of this is on a job interview, if you really want the job, you are going to dress nicely so they get the idea that you care. For the debate, I'm sure Mitt Romney rolled up his sleeves for good reasons.
ReplyDeleteHow we dress is pretty important. People judge others all the time at first sight and what their appearance looks like because it usually describes that person in some fashion. This is why when you go to a job interview or something similar, you need to dress appropriate so that it gives the incentive that you are responsible and dependable. In no way did Romney roll up his sleeves to show something negatively about himself and I am sure it was for some form of a good reason.
ReplyDeleteWow Izzy I didnt know that appearance was that important when it came to politics. I understood that they had to dress nicely, but I think it is really interesting that how they dress can be interpreted to which class of citizens they are aiming for and who they really want to get. I wonder if their outfit pickers, choose those outfits knowing that they will look a certain way? Thats strange. I do think that wearing the color when it comes to poltiics, whether it is blue or red, is very important because if they don't wear their color than I feel like it doesn't truley represent who they stand for and what side they are trying to promote to the viewers. I find that appearance, whether we want to admit it or not, is very important in any cause because as you said, if we went into an interview looking like a grub than most likely we would not get the job (although in the pursuit of happiness he does). If you are going to dress bad than you need the personality to make up for it, which is hard for a lot of people. Maybe America needs to start looking nicer so that everyone represents what we stand for. I understand that people may not have nice clothes which is fine, but again I think it is great that both candidates were dressed appropriate for what they stood for.
ReplyDeleteAppearance should not matter as much as it does when choosing a political leader. This does not mean they can just dress up in shorts and a tee shirt, political leaders should dress nice. The media/people should not recognize someone for just wearing something. All choices made for any political campaign should simply be based on facts and actions that the runner has done.
ReplyDeleteAppearance does seem to be everything these days. No matter where you work or where you go, people are always judging people on their looks. However, when we talk about high levels of employment such as the President, appearance is everything. Colors give off certain vibes and when people see those colors, it's all for a reason and planned out that way. When you are trying to sway votes, anything goes, and a simple color, pattern or something as small as having your sleeves rolled up is a big difference. Appearance really is everything.
ReplyDeleteIzzy,
ReplyDeleteThis post is very interesting. I had no idea that dress appearance had that big of an impact when it comes to a presidential election. Of course it's likely to see the men wearing suites and looking nice, but I wasn't aware that how they wore it really made that big of a difference. It may be that other people do judge them by how they dress. When you mentioned that Romney wore his sleeves rolled up to look laid back and to relate to the middle class, it surprised me that they can almost trick someone to vote for them subconsciously by how they dress. Overall a very unique and strong post.
~Shannon Douglas
I though this post was very interesting. I had never truly thought about it before, but it’s true that appearance does make a difference in other’s views of you. While it is important that the presidential candidates look their part and sophisticated, at the same time I don’t believe that the appearance of the candidates should make a large impact on who becomes the next President. I believe that political issues and actual things that affect everyone one should be the focus, rather than dress.
ReplyDeleteI thought this post was really cool to see because so many people don't actually realize how much thought goes into what looks like a simple outfit thrown in with some colors from the candidates party. Though what each candidate dresses in shouldn't matter, it takes a large affect on the voter outcome. I agree with David when he said that you can tell a lot about a person from what they wear: shoes, how tight their tie is, and even how neatly pressed their suit is. The colors, how nicely the suit fits, and the patterns reflect a lot of the candidate, and with the hours voters sit and watch them, they have more than enough time to observe all those details. Libby said it, since our first televised debate, candidates have been responsible for dressing to impress. None of us can deny that they judge people once in a while with first impressions with what they're wearing, and even though a presidential election is "based" off of the sole reason of politics, a lot more go in to affect when we are voting for the leader of our country.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a very interesting take on the election and the candidates, I never thought of analyzing their clothing and the colors they wear. Most of the things you pointed out seem to make perfect sense with the candidate's presentation at debates and their attitudes. It had never occurred to me that Paul Ryan was wearing suits that are too big and what the philosophy behind that was, honestly I had never even noticed. Thank you for a fresh, interesting approach on the election.
ReplyDeleteI've never actually thought about what either of the candidates was wearing, and it's interesting to learn that what they wear and what color it is can really have that big of an effect on people. I thought it was neat that you talked about what each of their primary wardrobe colors meant, too. (I think it's safe to say I don't pay attention much to how they dress, haha). I never thought about how Democrat is blue and Republican is red, either. I liked this post out of many I browsed simply because, like Abby said, it's such a fresh perspective and a new way to look at the election.
ReplyDelete