During a press conference on Thursday, President Barack Obama addressed serious issues concerning the Islamic State and Russia, but social media was fixated on his choice of attire: a beige suit. The last time tan clothing caused such a stir in Washington was when former Vice President Al Gore adopted earth tones on the advice of feminist author Naomi Wolf to project an 'alpha male' image.
Twitter users, including journalists and commentators, had a field day with the president's suit. Mark Hemingway of the Weekly Standard quipped, 'The emperor has no taste in suits.' Josh Barro of the New York Times joked, 'Obama vows to defeat whoever made him wear this suit.' Others criticised the fit and lapels, while some noted the irony of focusing on clothing over substantive remarks.
Laura Bassett of the Huffington Post drew a comparison to the first lady, tweeting, 'Obama's suit gets more attention than his words? Welcome to every day in the first lady's life.' Evan McMorris-Santoro of BuzzFeed observed, 'Once again, sartorial policing falls to America's best dressed: Washington, DC-based journalists.'
Congressman John Dingell of Michigan, who is retiring, signalled his approval of the suit. This is not the first time Obama has worn the beige suit; he also wore it at Easter. In a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair, Obama explained his preference for grey or blue suits to minimise trivial decisions, saying, 'I don't want to make decisions about what I'm eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.'
