World's best dressed candidates? In Afghan election, it's cape versus cravat.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN 鈥� It鈥檚 an old complaint: Reporters will point out the sartorial choices of female politicians while their male colleagues rarely get the same treatment.
So let鈥檚 strike a blow for gender equality and, as a bonus, say one of the few upbeat things that can be said about the Afghan elections: These are two of the best-dressed presidential candidates in living memory.
Up until the last weeks before the Aug. 20 first round, most analysts expected President Hamid Karzai to handily retain his preeminence 鈥� in both politics and dress. But former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah seemingly came out of nowhere with his and violet ties.
By the time Mr. Karzai emerged last week (five hours late) to publicly accept a runoff, his flashy green cape and pointy wool chapeau 鈥� once exotic to Western eyes as a sort of King Friday of the Hindu Kush 鈥� felt somewhat, well, dated.
In fact, Karzai was visually overpowered by the wall of suits to his right worn by the UN representative, US Sen. John Kerry, and the ambassadors of the US, Britain, and France. Nothing says Western authority like a row of suits.
Yet, no one can take away Karzai鈥檚 early success. In naming him one of the world鈥檚 in 2004, Esquire raved: 鈥淜arzai mixes traditional dress from Afghanistan with the Western tradition of the suit jacket. What makes it work are the fabrics and colors he employs, which show it was all carefully considered. As a new player on the international scene, he must appeal at home and abroad. His clothes reflect that.鈥�
The magazine went on to in 2007, updating the fashion advice to match the unraveling situation: 鈥淜arzai looks confident in his clothes all the time, which is all the more remarkable considering he knows he could get blown up at any moment. The most important thing about any piece of clothing is how you wear it.鈥�
That he is sticking with his tried-and-true ensembles seems to reflect his basic message of endurance and continuity for a fragile nation.
Enter Dr. Abdullah. His challenge has been to try to secure his political base in the north, win over Pashtuns in the south and east, and assure the international community that he can be a partner.
His biography helps: He is half-Pashtun, half-Tajik. But it鈥檚 the clothes that can make the man 鈥� depending on location. In the north, he opts for vaguely martial jackets, a reminder of his days as an adviser to the mujahideen commander and northern hero Ahmad Shah Masoud. In the south, he donned a with a strip dangling down for a Pashtun look. (More on how to dress for success in Afghanistan here.)
For Westerners, he knows exactly the right style to adopt to convince them he isn鈥檛 just some thug who bought himself a suit to play politician. Basically, he's got a touch of French flamboyance 鈥� and, if it wasn鈥檛 what I suspect would be a misunderstood word in Afghanistan, an almost metrosexual look. It鈥檚 a reminder of his more recent role as a diplomat, and it allows him to be international while standing some distance from the Americans.
A lesser dresser would have restricted his tie closet to the standard US dichotomy of blue and red.
When Abdullah sat down with three journalists earlier this month, a female reporter started out by noting his bright yellow silk tie.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 an optimistic tie,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know that tie also means pessimistic or optimistic,鈥� Abdullah replied, with an almost bashful side-glance and a subtle grin.
Reporter: 鈥淵ou know, there are somber colors that you might be trying to send a different message. But yellow? Great.鈥�
鈥淵ellow鈥檚 good? This is what I like, but unfortunately, in men鈥檚 world, this doesn鈥檛 have a lot of place,鈥� says Abdullah.
鈥淲ell, you鈥檙e a trend setter,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t looks great, I just have to tell you that.鈥�
