Deciphering the campaign dress code
(L to R) Justin Trudeau, Elizabeth May, Tom Mulcair and Stephen Harper, all looking pleased and rather conservative.
There is a message being sent out by the federal leaders in the Canadian 2015 election you may not be aware you are receiving. It’s a message encoded in their wardrobes: the outfits the leaders wear often say a lot about their politics. Some of it is intentional – like wearing a dark suit with a solid colour tie to try to look serious and trustworthy. But some of it is by mistake – like not wearing a tie and ending up looking sloppy, or being too polished and perfect and therefore looking egocentric or narcissistic. As the Telegraph recently pointed out, politicians are in a no-win situation when it comes to their clothes: too much effort and they are seen as superficial and vain, too little and they are seen as lazy and untrustworthy.
Before you accuse me of being superficial for focusing on suits instead of platforms, let me ask you this: how would you react if one of the leaders appeared on TV in a stained tshirt, old jeans and unkempt hair? Can you honestly tell me that it wouldn’t have an impact? Or to make it more personal: what do you wear to your best friend’s wedding? Pajamas? No, because clothing sends a message whether we like it or not, whether we intend to or not. We all judge others, unconsciously and immediately, on how they look. I’m not saying our judgement should end there, of course not, we have to look deeper, in this case at policy and practice. But we can’t ignore the power of clothes.
So here are my thoughts on the messages being sent out by the four front-runners in this election:
Stephen Harper
MESSAGE: That he is serious, conservative and just an average Joe.
Stephen Harper usually wears dark, conservative suits intended to make him look prime ministerial and to not distract from his message. However, they often fit a little baggy and are not very flattering so he ends up looking old and out of touch. But he is also seen without a tie and with his jacket undone, like very recently at a Tim Horton’s, handing out coffee. I think that’s part of a George-W.-Bush-style tactic of appearing as a regular guy, someone approachable, someone you could just sit down with and talk to. But here’s the problem: since his outfit was so lifeless and conservative (checked shirt, dark jacket, black pants), he looked more like the manager of that Tim Horton’s than the Prime Minister. I don’t want the average Joe running the country; I want someone better than me and my neighbours, someone with personality and personal expression, not to mention a visionary.
Elizabeth May
MESSAGE: That she is serious and trustworthy and not going to rock the boat.
Elizabeth May typically wears a dark jacket and knee-length skirt with an open collar white shirt on the campaign trail. As you can see in the photo at the top of the page, that way she doesn’t stand out much from her contenders. And this points to the unique and difficult position May is in: she will be judged not only as a candidate but as a woman in a dominantly male world. Therefore, she has to dress conservatively to not appear too feminine and ends up not looking very radical. Which can call into question her platform and goals.
Tom Mulcair
MESSAGE: That he is hard-working and committed. And a bit out of touch.
Sadly, Tom Mulcair makes the same poor choice that a lot of larger men do which is to wear big suits. Mulcair’s are a couple sizes too big, so they roll off his shoulders and gape at the neck, which leaves him looking saggy and unkempt. And when he goes tie-less, he makes another common mistake which is to wear his regular business suit just minus the tie, which makes it look like he forgot to put one on or that something’s missing. What I really don’t think works is Mulcair without a jacket, with the top button of his shirt undone and his tie loosened. This is intended to make it look like he’s working really, really hard but he ends up looking like an insurance salesman who just pulled an all-nighter.
Justin Trudeau
MESSAGE: That he is hip and smart and a bit too slick.
Trudeau wears much more fitted and contemporary suits than any of the other leaders – just enough “fashion” to make him look in touch while not getting into dandy territory. And when he does do the no-tie thing he does it well with a jacket and shirt that look good without a tie, so he doesn’t look like he just forgot to put on one. The problem I have with Trudeau’s wardrobe, however, is that it doesn’t seem genuine. I just don’t feel that his clothing is an expression of his own personal style and that has me wondering if his politics are an expression of his personal vision. The wardrobe suggests they’ve both been foisted on him by others. Just compare his look to that of his father who exuded personal style in everything he did, whether it was wearing an ascot or befriending Fidel Castro. So, Justin, how about bringing back the long hair and sherwani?
My advice (for the male candidates, as I’m a male style writer)
While you don’t want your clothes distracting people from your message, they should also be an expression of who you are. For Harper and Mulcair, that means suits that fit properly and something with just a dash more style than dark blue. Instead of trying to look casual in a formal suit, I’d suggest soft shouldered jackets. Without the chiselled and padded shoulders of regular jackets, soft shoulders look casual while still looking dressy.
I’d also love to see the return of pocket squares. I don’t mean huge, flamboyant things, just something simple and elegant. We haven’t had a Prime Minister wear a pocket square since Chretian, but I think for Justin Trudeau, for instance, it might be that bit of panache that would suggest some individuality, instead of conformity.
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