Since my working week starts on Tuesday this week thanks to Presidents' Day, I thought I'd check why. My first discovery was that, rather than celebrating every US president (luckily, since there have clearly been a few duds in recent decades), the day actually celebrates Abraham Lincoln and George Washington who both had birthdays in February.
I couldn't help wondering whether tall US Presidents, like us lesser (but taller!) folk, had to contend with the problems of finding clothes tall enough. After all, their average height has been 5'11" (180cm) and the present incumbent is 6'1". So for those wanting to feel presidential, here's some tall clothing tips from two of the tallest.
Barack Obama, at 6'1" tall, has been widely described as a 'style icon' and has maintained a sharp style right into the White House, resisting the temptation to dress down to seem more like just a regular guy (cowboy boots, anyone?). Still, while he is reported to have started his presidential campaign wearing expensive Italian suits from Ermenegildo Zegna, he has since opted for classic American style from a less exclusive source. He is reported to favor Hart Schaffner Marx, a Chicago based store under the same ownership as upmarket Hickey Freeman. At Hart Schaffner Marx you can get a nice extra long wool suit for around $600 - not cheap, but very reasonable compared to the $1500 that Zegna would charge.
Coupled with the suit, a crisp white shirt and a smart tie complete the look - perhaps with rolled up sleeves as a slight concession to "smart casual". Those are not hard to find - extra long ties for tall men are available at many sites including ties.com but always go for silk. Shirts with extra long sleeves are also not hard to find - I am biased towards traditional British style such as Savile Row Co, Charles Tyrwhitt or TM Lewin. For a truly crisp look, buy pure cotton in a two-ply fabric with a high thread count (100's or higher).
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