We, here at the WeHo Expat, are happy to be back from hiatus in Lawrence, Kansas. Upon returning from the land of corn and Jayhawks, I was once again reminded about how prevalent one particular fashion trend is here in the District: bowties.
Now, I'm a policy wonk at a think tank in Washington, DC. Lately, I've started to wonder if this is some kind of informal uniform for our profession....ummmm......yea.
Just to be clear...there's nothing innately wrong with bowties. They are, however, to be worn judiciously, and by very particular kinds of people. For you lawyers out there, a bowtie suits our good friend, Professor Charles W. Kingsfield, Jr. (from the movie, The Paper Chase) quite well:
This is the bastard that I blame for dorky, 20-something Washingtonians wearing bowties:
Some of you out there might actually be fans of Tucker Carlson (I'm sorry), but he is not to be trusted. While riding the metro last night, I saw one of these wonks-in-training on the redline and he couldn't have been a day over 14 years old. And yet...there he was...big red bowtie...mop of hair...and a seersucker suit (and oh god...don't even get me started on the overuse of seersucker in this town...it has to be some Southern thing). You see, this poor 14 year-old boy is probably just finishing his unpaid internship on the Hill, only to return to his hometown to discover that, indeed, no one else in their right mind would dress that way outside the Beltway.
Today, I am issuing a proclamation regarding bowties:
Commandment the First. Bowties are only for old men (go to hell, Tucker Carlson)
Commandment the Second. In order to "pull off" a bowtie, you need to have a "study" equipped with leather club chair, an old piano, 15-year scotch, some vinyl Bluebird records and an assortment of books with titles that only frequent readers of the New Yorker would recognize.
Commandment the Third. You need to work in a dorky profession like mine (think tank or other policy-related field) in the District. Eccentric professors, of course, always have a pass on this one.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Damn you, Tucker Carlson!
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5 comments:
It's WHEAT. Jayhawks and WHEAT. The corn is in Iowa.
Haha...my apologies. You certainly would be the expert.
http://media.justjared.com/headlines/2008/04/jonas-brothers-white-house-correspondents-dinner.jpg
I beg to differ...
Erik... do your homework honey. The Seersucker is the South's fashion gift to DC. Its history dates to the early 20th century in the years before A/C. Southern senators found DC summer heat unbearable, compounded by poorly ventilated Senate chambers. the legislators wanted to wear lighter clothes so, according to Senate historians, in 1907, a New Orleans clothier designed the lightweight rumpled suits to ease their comfort. In 1996, Trent Lott (no comments) decided that Thursdays in June -- beginning with the first day of summer -- Senators would come to work wearing the seersucker turning a long-time informal tradition into a regular rite.
WOW. That seriously sheds a whole new light on seersucker. My apologies for so carelessly brushing it aside! I'm still not sure about the bowties...
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