Super Style: Barack vs. Hillary

Feb. 5, 2008 — -- Usually, when referring to presidential style we think, "What style is that?" A red tie, a white shirt, a navy suit — oh so ho-hum.

Fashion in the White House has typically been linked to the fist lady. Jackie had her pillbox hats, and Nancy Reagan enthralled with her Reagan red and Adolpho suits. Laura Bush has donned a few Oscar de la Renta frocks while her daughters often dazzle in Badgley Mischka.

But it wasn't always that way. Back in George Washington's day, style was never in question. His uniform was de rigueur. During his time in office, Abraham Lincoln turned his ever-so-stylish hat into a fashion must-have. The height along with his tall, lanky, model-like stature allowed him to be visible to enormous crowds. Jimmy Carter, the famous peanut farmer/president brought, overalls back into style.

But as the Oval Office opens up for the next winning candidate, the business of image is front and center. Most of the candidates are touting change, and looks and appeal are more important to voters then ever before. Today's politicians must up the style ante to attract younger voters, who want their president to be more of a peer than a parental figure.

Be warned, John McCain, the fashion hipsters will probably not find those grandfather-ish cardigans all that appealing. Though that image is as mature and comforting as Santa Claus by the fire, the urge for something fresher is in the air. And although his wife has all the fashionable attributes of a hair-sprayed beauty pageant contestant several years his junior, he may not be "hip and cool" enough for the new generation of voters who are fed up with and want no more old-school politics.

Clearly, this group of presidential hopefuls isn't spending Gs on Dolce and Gabanna suits or Louis Vuitton sunglasses, but their image and appearance is obviously something they care about. (Remember John Edwards' infamous $400 haircut?) As any celebrity worth his or her weight in press clips knows, style is not just the clothes you wear or the designer labels, it's the whole package of how you present yourself to your constituents.