Costume Department Drama

I'm intensely interested in this year's Presidential race. It's not so much about seeing my guy win 'cause that's a given. I'm also fascinated by the messages being crafted, the strategy being executed and the narrative being enacted. The mechanics of winning the White House are not only epic but fraught with costume department worthy drama. Behind every candidate is a personal stylist polling whether Ohio prefers white shirts over blue. Clothes matter.

When a colleague recently forwarded an article from the Wall Street Journal on "How to Pull Off 'CEO Casual'", my instinct was to read the article through the lens of stagecraft. Clothes not only maketh the man/woman, they also have significant impact on the acceleration or stagnation of professional ambitions.

According to the article's Trevor Kaufman, a CEO running a digital-branding agency, anyone who wears a suit makes him exceedingly nervous. In fact, he tells the reporter, "A suit has become something you wear when you're asking for money." He goes on to extol the virtues of going sockless, British underwear and having shirts custom-made with a lowered top button (to conceal chest hair) and widened cuffs to accommodate thick and hugely expensive watches. Without a trace of irony, he connects his sartorial obsessions to establishing his creative authority.

Maybe so. But as my colleague Linda Y. pointed out, "Kaufman earned the right to sockless Prada loafers. He didn't start out sockless."

Unfortunately, the landscape is littered with sharpies who showed up for an interview projecting cool only to discover that the interviewer had a strange predilection for heat-seeking missiles. In a tightened economy, my money is on smart grooming habits and quiet attire that carries a whiff of seriousness and purpose.

Treat your closet like Warner Brothers's wardrobe department. When in doubt, slip into the costume of the ambitious, focused, supremely confident superachiever whose left brain capabilities are not at all thwarted by ties, tailored pantsuits or Gold Toe knee high socks.

And tune in to the sartorial decisions of the two candidates. You can be sure that come September, when the race tightens, decisions about jackets, sweaters, ties and shoes will be very much a part of the equation.