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D.C.'s own Mr. Blackwell
By Karin Tanabe and Amie Parnes, Politico – 12/13/2010
Dare to not brush your hair? Or thinking about making a bold fashion statement on the Hill? Watch out for Speaker-elect John Boehner, who might want you to reconsider. Call him the Mr. Blackwell of the 112th Congress.
For years, the well-groomed Republican leader famous for his gray suits, bright ties and perpetual tan, has been known for his criticisms of others’ duds and tresses, not to mention footwear. And no one - not colleagues, staffers or reporters - seems safe from his sartorially conservative eye.
Earlier this month, Boehner channeled Tim Gunn and teased Utah Rep. Rob Bishop for sporting a three-piece suit. "I told Mr. Bishop on the way in that just because he inherited this suit from his grandfather didn't mean he had to wear it," Boehner said at a news conference. He conceded, however, that while Bishop lacked good judgment in the clothing department, "his hair looks good."
Boehner's disapproval of Bishop's throwback suit was tame compared with comments he made in 2009 about Fox News's Chad Pergram's black-on-black ensemble being "too metrosexual." Pergram described his outfit in a piece he penned after he became a Boehner fashion victim. "My getup: a black and white houndstooth jacket, a black shirt, a black tie and black pants. I finished everything off with a black pocket square," he wrote.
Pergram said that the first thing the speaker-elect, then the House minority leader, commented on was his dislike of the reporter's black shirt. During a media briefing, he brought it up again: "If you haven't seen Pergram's outfit..." he said, looking at the reporter. Later, he took another shot at Pergram, chiding him for making his debonair district look bad. "For someone born in the 8th District of Ohio, you don't look like it."
Boehner’s criticism goes from head to toe, and in between. In 2008, he pointed to a reporter’s scuffed shoes and simply said, “polish.”
To some, like Washington-based stylist Lauren Rothman, Boehner is simply flexing his fashion muscles, a rarity inside the Beltway. "I think that he's enforcing the idea of dressing for the job you want and not just the job you've got. In D.C., there's nowhere else where that's more of a true statement," said Rothman.
Boehner often jabs reporters and colleagues for their attire, but his digs toward untamed 'dos trump his colorful clothing commentary.
Last year, he suggested to a reporter that he may want to invest in a good old fashioned hairbrush. First, the congressman said, "You really do need to do something with that hair of yours. … Get a brush, would ya?" The reporter seemed amenable to the idea, but with a caveat: "I'll get a haircut if you pay for it," he told Boehner.
During the same press conference, Boehner referred to another reporter as "the bald guy." On a roll, he then asked a female reporter whose hair was pulled back in a ponytail, "What's wadded up in the back of your head?"
"It looks so nice hanging down," he told the woman. "It looks like you got up a little late and decided that, you know, I just wadded up the back. For those of you that don't know about me and ponytails, males get it – males get it just as bad as females."
Whether helpful or hurtful, hair-bashing is nothing new for the Ohioan. He has been chiding people on the record for years. In 2007, he critiqued the untamed locks of CongressDaily's Christian Bourge in 2007, saying, "You need a shave and a haircut…What does your mother think?" He then told another reporter "You need a comb."
Some might find Boehner’s off-the-cuff comments offensive, but many who have witnessed or received the fashion barbs from Boehner find them amusing. "What are you going to do? He's the speaker-elect," said one congressional reporter.
Mike Steel, Boehner’s spokesman, told POLITICO that he does mean well, explaining, "Boehner wants everyone - even members of the Fourth Estate - to look their best, and sometimes offers helpful suggestions.”
But is fashion commentary really appropriate coming from one of the foremost leaders of Congress? Susan K. Abrams, owner and partner in Corporate Icon and Political Icon, said it depends on your perspective. "You don't have to be as formal anymore from a political point of view,” she said, but added, “I'm not agreeing with that as a political strategist.”
Brian Kirwin of Rourk PR thinks Boehner is about to have an a-ha moment. "Boehner will find how quickly the rules change once you are speaker," said Kirwin. "[He] should remember well how difficult the transition was for Newt Gingrich. There are just things you can do in the minority that backfire when you are speaker of the House.”
In Boehner’s defense, Rothman points out that the speaker-elect has the fashion chops to back it up. "He's got some natural style, and he's a good-looking guy. … He wears a fitted suit. He gets it." Still, she advises: "Be careful that you're not perceived as the fashion police, or those same people will come back and police you."
Contact for political reporters
Brian Kirwin, political consultant
(757) 718-3225
brian@rourkpr.com
About our political consulting firm
Brian Kirwin of Rourk PR is one of Virginia’s top-notch political consultants and works with various political consulting firms to serve clients in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton, Eastern Shore, and throughout Virginia.
