One of the clearest indicators of the Decline & Imminent Fall of Western Civilization has been the collapse of all rules, norms and standards pertaining to men’s formal wear.
This trend was accelerated as long ago as 1960, when the ever dapper John F. Kennedy showed up at the traditional Al Smith dinner wearing a tuxedo instead of the correct and traditional white tie and tails. Ironically it was Richard Nixon, properly clad and closely shaven, who looked smashing that night.
The decline in presidential presentation reached its nadir in 1989, when George H.W. Bush, eschewing the formal morning suit worn by Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy and virtually every modern president, showed up at his inaugural swearing in ceremony wearing a dark blue suit, as if he was taking a meeting with the American people.
A Lie Too Big to Fail:...
Best Price: $13.77
Buy New $17.00
(as of 05:35 UTC - Details)
In 2016, I mounted a Thermopylae-style defense of correct male attire at President Trump’s inauguration. Unfortunately, the other 300 Spartans failed to show. I wore the correct morning suit, but was wrongly accused of looking like a Batman villain. Such is the plight of those who cling to sartorial standards amid the barbarism of cargo pants, dress-down Fridays, and Tommy Bahama novelty prints.
Sadly, President Trump is following the G.H.W. Bush precedent. Rather than be properly clad like Reagan at his inauguration, Trump chose to be sworn in in a dark suit as somber as the mood of his speech, but enlivened by the slashing red of his trademark power tie. Yet President Trump recovered his sartorial poise that very night, by donning the correct white tie and tails for his Inaugural Balls, even though most of the revelers present were incorrectly wearing what Americans call a ‘tuxedo’ and Brits, more firmly rooted in tweedier and less trendier times, properly call a ‘dinner suit’ or ‘evening dress’.
