Political Ties

Biography. Most men learn the art of neckwear the same place they learn the art of shaving: their fathers' mirror. Since Barack Obama Sr. was a distant figure in the life of his son, whom he saw only once after the age of 2, the Illinois senator may well be a self-taught tie guy. If so, it makes sense that he'd favor the four-in-hand, growing up as he did in middle-class Hawaii, surrounded by short-sleeve casual wear, far from elite business and politics. In short, the grapefruit-size Windsor would look out of place in a coconut culture. And once a person learns a knot, says Blackman, they're unlikely to change.

Rebellion. While there's no official dress code in Obama's office--the U.S. Senate--the unofficial costume is a blue suit and white shirt, finished by a tiny whale or sailboat-dotted necktie with a big sumptuous knot--a Windsor, of course. "Those guys take their knots seriously," says former Capitol Hill intern Tyler Thoreson, now executive editor of Men.Style.com, the Web site of GQ and Details. By refusing to look like a Washington good ole boy, Obama may be showing that he's in the Senate, but "not really of the Senate," Thoreson suggests. Then again, the Illinois senator might just be too busy--or disinterested--to learn the Windsor.

Aspiration. The four-in-hand is typically an office-park knot. But it's also, confusingly, used by upper-crust WASPs as a way to exude a certain effortless cool. The twist in the Ivy League version is a seemingly looser knot with a soft and undimpled finish. Worn perfectly by the elder president Bush and windsurfing Sen. John Kerry (both Yale alums), the WASP four-in-hand takes practice to master. So it's possible that Obama is attempting to raise his class fashion status by wearing the same knot. Only, he's not tying it correctly and hasn't been for a long time. In a 1990 photo, Obama (then editor of the Harvard Law Review) is wearing a deeply dented and off-center knot. The classmate to his right, meanwhile, is immaculately unruffled.

Politics. Obama has whacked down beer, burgers and waffles in an effort to win regular-guy status on the campaign trail. Perhaps his workaday knot is part of the same effort: a concession to all the normal guys out in America-Land. By the same token, it might be part of his careful balancing of the race issue--since the Windsor knot has in recent years been a fixture in hip-hop, worn by black rappers such as Sean Combs and Jay-Z, as well as wannabe trendsetters like Fonzworth Bentley, host of MTV's fashion makeover show "From G's to Gents." Just as likely, Obama feels the need to distance himself from overtelevised Windsor-wearing white guys, like Regis Philbin and Ryan Seacrest. (Seacrest, to his credit, has toned it down a bit since guest-hosting "Larry King Live" in 2005 with what CNN's Anderson Cooper called "the biggest knot I've ever seen.")

Physics. The Windsor is a complex knot, requiring yards of excess fabric. At 6-foot-2, Obama may be wearing the four-in-hand out of physical necessity. Or else, fashion necessity. Compared to the flounder-width ties donned by most politicians, McCain included, Obama's are on the skinnier side, and as Sir Hardy Amies noted in his 1964 best seller "The ABCs of Men's Fashion," the Windsor is "unthinkable" with a narrow line of fabric.

Of course, as we get into the final stretch of the campaign, the ties may come off--along with the gloves. That's another story.

© 2008