Like it or not, style matters in politics. The message a leader sends with a cardigan, a pantsuit, or a pair of jeans can indicate not only political ideology or personality, but also set a trend. In this context, American presidents and their first ladies can display the strong link between fashion and politics. Every American president has left his own mark in matters of style, from Harry Truman’s penchant for Hawaiian-style sport shirts to Dwight D. Eisenhower’s cropped military jackets and Ronald Reagan’s custom-made Hollywood glamour. However, it was the simple sartorial gestures of John F. Kennedy and his wife that really shaped twentieth-century American style. John and Jackie Kennedy symbolized America in the 1960s: young, polished and intelligent they embodied the image of the perfect couple, the expectations surrounding the Kennedy administration, and they acted as a metaphor for the American dream. It is with the Kennedys that this paper intends to delve further into the relationship between style and politics.
From the Kennedys to the Obamas: style and politics of American presidential couples / Giovanna Motta, Veronica De Sanctis; Biagini, Antonello Folco. - II:(2017), pp. 318-326. (Intervento presentato al convegno Fashion through History tenutosi a Sapienza Università di Roma).
From the Kennedys to the Obamas: style and politics of American presidential couples
Antonello Biagini
2017
Abstract
Like it or not, style matters in politics. The message a leader sends with a cardigan, a pantsuit, or a pair of jeans can indicate not only political ideology or personality, but also set a trend. In this context, American presidents and their first ladies can display the strong link between fashion and politics. Every American president has left his own mark in matters of style, from Harry Truman’s penchant for Hawaiian-style sport shirts to Dwight D. Eisenhower’s cropped military jackets and Ronald Reagan’s custom-made Hollywood glamour. However, it was the simple sartorial gestures of John F. Kennedy and his wife that really shaped twentieth-century American style. John and Jackie Kennedy symbolized America in the 1960s: young, polished and intelligent they embodied the image of the perfect couple, the expectations surrounding the Kennedy administration, and they acted as a metaphor for the American dream. It is with the Kennedys that this paper intends to delve further into the relationship between style and politics.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
