Campaigning merchandise

The advent of the ‘Step Outside Posh Boy’ T-shirt from the Guardian got me thinking about campaign merchandise.  So Fashpolitico investigated the mainstream parties to see what you can buy.

The Lib Dems were the first to fail, I couldn’t even find the word ‘shop’ on their front page.  Surely there are campaign funds to raise through merchandising?  Well certainly not if you were a casual internet shopper looking to spend money buying a T-shirt with an homage to Clegg on it.  #Superfail

The Labour Party barely did much better.  In the shop under the word ‘gifts’, which is certainly an exaggeration, there are a few items you could give as a ‘gift’, if you did not like the person you were giving it to that is.  There is only one item of clothing (fashion would be stretching it) to purchase, a tie, which I couldn’t imagine any of the Cabinet wearing, so why would a member of the public?

So it appears that only the Conservative Party has grasped entrepreneurial opportunity of marketing their political party this General Election season.  The ‘online shop’ is proudly advertised on their frontpage. 

Future Prime Minister

Inside the shop there are baby grows with ‘Future Prime Minister’ written on them, bags, umbrellas and that old campaign stalwart, the slogan T-shirt; in male and female fits, with attempts at witty slogans.  There’s event the interesting development of a polo T-shirt with a small Conservative logo on the right hand side, essentially attempting to elevate their scribbled tree logo to the heights of Ralph Lauren’s polo player – an audacious move.

I can only conclude that Margaret Thatcher’s legacy of coming from a shop keeping background has rubbed off on the party.

But even with the Conservative’s best efforts there’s a long way to go.  Fashpolitico envisages a world where the political parties have sections in ASOS where you can buy SamCam or Sarah Brown’s outfits after you see them on TV.  Some may criticise this as taking the role of ‘first wives’ and merchandising too far.  But let’s face it, their endorsement of high street fashion leads to extra sales.  Perhaps it is time political parties could capitalise from this with a small percentage… I’m sure SamCam, with her work at Smythson, could lead the way.

Radical hairstyle policies

Fashpolitico often has difficulty dreaming up commentary on male political style, there’s only so far you can go with a suit and tie.  Unless Cameron gets really radical and abandons his tie in the House, there will be limited opportunities for political men to express themselves sartorially.

Within the relatively conservatively dressed political world, hair seems to be the final front for free expression.  A few weeks ago the Manchester Evening News noted James Purnell’s ‘backbencher’s beard’:

@davidottewell identified the new hair growth as a change of direction for Purnell, in fact it was a sharper change of direction than anyone expected, with him announcing his departure from the House shortly afterwards.

http://blogs.menmedia.co.uk/politics/2010/02/news-in-pictures-james-purnells-beard/

Fashpolitico has also noticed a certain scruffiness among younger politicos.  She desperately wanted to take a picture of a Special Adviser and a CBI policy adviser at a recent meeting, both with unkempt hair, one sporting a lot of stubble, but not quite a beard.  However seeing as the meeting was in full swing, and a shadow Minister was sat between them, it didn’t seem appropriate. 

But she did manage capture this pre-election pic, of Conservative and Labour supporters bonding before the fight.  Fashpolitico thinks the picture proves that interesting hair, even a moustache, can be made to work.  And the political world seems a little less conservative as a result.  Bring on the radical Conservatives – let’s hope their dress sense follows this new direction.

Where Fashpolitico leads, the Guardian follows

Fashpolitico was delighted to see the Guardian values the worlds of politics and fashion, with pages of the Weekend section dedicated to political fashion.  Naturally Sarah B v Sam Cam is the focus of the piece. In many ways Sarah’s fashion sense reflects the fortunes of her husband.  She started out conventional, without a lot of appeal, but these days her popularity has picked up to the extent that she’s seen as a fashion leader.

Sam Cam was always going to be ahead in the fashion stakes, she is a fash professional after all.  But I don’t think anyone should underestimate just how difficult being a Tory wife is when it comes to dressing.  She manages to look fresh and forward looking, whilst not offending the grass roots.  Perhaps Dave should look to his wife for inspiration at Spring Conference:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/feb/27/sarah-brown-samantha-cameron-fashion

Fashpolitico was particularly pleased to see the Guardian address the ‘what to wear on the doorstep’ question.  Dressing for the doorstep is never easy, you need to be practical and yet smart; wearing your colours is always a priority.  Of those items suggested, here are fashpolitico’s favs:

The dress is always a great option for female politicos, they looks smart, but at the same time not over the top for a Sunday afternoon’s canvassing.  This silk number from M&S struck me as particularly good value, and manages to look modern but not too challenging, young but not too sexy. Labour canvassers, the voters will love you in this.

This scarf stood out as a great item for canvassing in the Spring.  It may seem to have warmed up, but after 2 hours knocking on doors you can get a bit chilly.  This blue leopard print number meets the Sam Cam test, modern, forward looking, with a touch of trad about it.  It will win over voters in droves.

Lib Dem fashpoliticos definitely have it hardest when dressing in their colours.  Unless you’re have a darker skin tone yellow is virtually impossible to wear well.  For the paler Liberals out there accessories are the way forward.  This pair of leather gloves will give your canvassing outfit a flash of political pride, without startling the voter.

Fashpolitico has never dedicated a lot of thought to the Green Party politico and their fashion choices.  She fears that nor has the Guardian with most of its green items being unsuitable for campaigning.  However these gorgeous Lanvin pumps are just the ticket for a bit of door to door action when Spring finally arrives.  But Fashpoliticos suspects that the only politicos likely to shell out the cash for these numbers would be of the ‘Vote Blue, Go Green’ ilk.

All pics from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/inpictures

Cameron’s new fashion austerity

Fashpolitico is increasingly depressed with Cameron’s dark clothing choices.  Is it an attempt to look like the age of austerity she wonders.  This black open necked shirt was I’m afraid a new low.  A black shirt is part Dad-rock, part wide boy (when accompanied with a gold chain).  Surely SamCam can be brought into help.  She’s a professional fashion person after all.

Controversial coats

My earlier post on politicians wearing coats in the cold provoked quite a debate (on other mediums such as Facebook, people really aren’t so keen on commenting on the blog itself).

A friend pointed me in the direction of this great American article which says:

Politicians want to look vigorous and full of energy and bundling up against the frost might counter that appearance, he said.

But then there are the three words that haunt every hatless politician: William Henry Harrison.

The month-long presidency of Harrison is best remembered for his delivery of a nearly two-hour inaugural speech in the Washington winter in 1841, sans coat or hat. He died of pneumonia a month later.

Coatlessness worked out better for John F. Kennedy. In 1961, the young president gave his inaugural address, which included the famous line “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country” without appropriate winter garb.

Even today, tales of that moment speak of the youthful vigor of the young president’s besuited stand against the frigid cold.

And ever since, profiles of pols note their coatless state as a sign of their vitality — especially in New Hampshire.

http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/79727002.html

So there’s more to coat wearing than meets the eye in politics but I disagree with this American analysis.  Any good campaigner knows there’s no way you can door knock for 2 hours in the snow without a quality coat, warm boots and decent gloves.  All the American article suggests is that American politicians spend all their time being ferried about in cars rather than on the knocker.

I suspect that life for British political activists is much less glamorous and they’re all praying for spring at the moment.

A question of judgement…

A week is a long time in politics, and in my case it was 2 weeks, but fashpolitico has returned to her vital fashion journalism.

A question of judgement

For some reason politicians are very keen on saying decisions are a question judgement, but what about their fashion judgement?

Tony Blair made an impression this week at the Iraq Inquiry declaring “this isn’t about a lie, a conspiracy or a deceit, or a deception.  It’s a decision”.  The first part of his fashion decision was wise, a well cut suit always adds an air of assurance, and the shade of blue makes a nice change from the usual darker shades worn in Parliament these days.  However the cuff links and large cuffs are a little too show biz, as was the perma-orange skin tone he chose.

Meanwhile on the Politics Show today Cameron once again spoke about his judgement.  Whilst his judgement on economic issues has yet to be tested, his fashion judgement clearly took a lead from TB.  He matched TB’s elegant fashion decision of a white shirt coupled with a strong coloured tie.  However I was less keen on the very dark suit. 

Clearly show biz was on Mandy’s mind in his Politics Show interview when he accused Cameron of being a TV presenter like Des O’Connor.  Perhaps Cameron should pick up a few tips on how to choose the right shade of orange from TB?

 

Boris: his fashion choices influence Labour strategy

You can rely on Mandy for a good quote, he declared on the Politics Show ”There’s no airbrushing Gordon Brown like David Cameron did. It’s sometimes difficult to hairbrush Gordon Brown.”  Is this a sign that Labour are planning a series of unkempt Boris style haircuts on the Cabinet?

Frivolity at the General Election

Fashpolitico attended a fundraising event this week where a journalist declared that the assembled political activists would be disappointed by the media’s focus on image during the campaign.  Clearly he didn’t realise that Fashpolitico was in the audience… it’s time to embrace the frivolous as well as the serious in this election.  It’s the only thing that will get us through it.

New Year, new fashion commentary for the election

Fashpolitico spent long and hard thinking how best to contribute to the General Election debate.  Campaigns are launched and unpicked within hours on political blogs, but who’s doing the fashion analysis?

Fashpolitico will rise to the challenge and endeavour to provide a weekly run down in the style stakes.

The week started with controversy over the budget deficit or airbrushing, depending on your point of view:

The alledged air-brushing of Cameron in his first election poster was an interesting marketing faux pas.  Yes, elite brands air brush every last wrinkle away.  But an election is not an elite exercise, it’s a mass market affair.  And brands aimed at the mass market, such as Dove, go out of their way to make sure their customers know they understand them, through using models of all shapes and sizes.  Brand Cameron needs a swift rethink on this.

As for Labour’s day 1 assault, Alistair Darling is never the most dynamic of dressers and he launched his analysis of Conservative spending plans dressed solely in grey: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/video/2010/jan/04/alistair-darling-tory-black-hole

Fashpolitico was getting worried.  However the Hoo-Hew coup, whilst lacking in style (both political style and fashion style) managed to lift the week with this enduring image:

Taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jan/08/gordon-brown-election-failed-plot

It’s cold outside and D Miliband is looking, frankly, unprepared.  But AJ keeps his cool, looking the part for the weather whilst still keeping up his mod look.  On the basis of this picture alone you can see who is playing the long game.