Good ol' clothes - conservative clothing and attitudes; In Defense of Elegance - Cover Story

National Review, Oct 28, 1996 by Florence King

A conservative political candidate is an ''empty suit.''

In a democracy, the only men who can get away with looking conservative are liberals. When John F. Kennedy wore cutaway-and-stripes and a silk topper at his Inauguration, the media purred and the other officials on the dais, Democrats and Republicans alike, went along without a murmur. That it was the correct attire did not matter to them, only that Kennedy chose to wear it.

Yet when Ronald Reagan announced the same intention, the media was up in arms with dark murmurings about snobbery and exclusiveness, and GOP congressmen such as Sen. Howard Baker did the ''Aw, shucks, I'm just a country boy'' routine. Whatever Reagan had planned originally, he ended up wearing stripes, short coat, and no hat, which made him look like a butler.

The latest victim of the sartorial levelers is Bob Dole, who probably will wear Cotton Dockers to his Inauguration if he has one.

Dole's main purpose in going casual was to narrow the gender gap by making women feel warmed and secure in his open-collar, rump-sprung presence. But it doesn't work that way. Another midwesterner, Sinclair Lewis, came nearer to the mark in Main Street:

She was close in her husband's arms; she clung to him; whatever of strangeness and slowness and insularity she might find in him, none of that mattered so long as she could slip her hands beneath his coat, run her fingers over the warm smoothness of the satin back of his waistcoat, seem almost to creep into his body, find in him strength, find in the courage and kindness of her man a shelter from the perplexing world.

That traditional fashions are a boon to morality and good manners seems to me inarguable. Even Bill Clinton agrees; whether or not he meant what he said about school uniforms, he had the good sense to say it, suggesting that he knows it's true whether he believes it or not.

I would go further and recommend knickers and long socks for pre-teen boys. I'm just old enough to remember the tag end of this fashion from my elementary-school days. Nothing else says ''boy'' with such devastating effect. Knickers may be the best line of demarcation ever invented: it's virtually impossible to smart-mouth teachers and cops while wearing them.

The button fly, still favored by Savile Row tailors, will not reduce casual sex, but it might reduce coarseness in movies and television. I am always appalled when actors casually unzip and remove their pants, or put them on and zip up, while facing the camera. They wouldn't be able to do this with a button fly; it would take too long and waste dramatic time.

The button fly also inculcates a genteel habit, though we're probably too far gone for it to take. The pants my father bought before World War II all had button flies, and he always turned his back on us females -- even my mother -- while he did them up. Once, when I asked, I was told all gentlemen did. I believe it. A zipper provides a man with a jaunty gesture, but buttons force him to keep his hands at his crotch long enough to make him feel awkward and a little foolish: most men will turn their backs.