Vintage & Politics on Iowa's Caucus Day

Its the big day here in Iowa and the nation seems transfixed on Des Moines. The media are everywhere, the campaign workers out in full force....phone calls, flyers, even supporters at my door New Year's Day at 11 AM! Sections of downtown not terribly far from my shop are closed off to allow networks to set up trucks with satellite dishes.....the city is abuzz with activity and anticipation. I snapped this homage to Obama in the snow outside Des Moines University this morning up the street from the shop on my way in....

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I'd have liked to take a look at the candidates and their fashion choices but can find surprisingly little about who or what they prefer to wear. I was able to find that Hillary Clinton favors clean lines and classic tailoring and pieces from Donna Karan and St. John Knits, and that while John Edwards & Barack Obama both did photo shoots for Men's Vogue magazine, Hillary declined to do a cover for the women's version. Obama in Vogue HERE & HERE

Barack Obama, too, sports a classic look.....though his suits seem far better tailored to his physique than many of the other candidates. Its generally known that he shuns brightly colored ties for more subtle tones. Edwards is often seen without his suit jacket, a tact likely taken to give the candidate a "working man's" appearance. Bill Richardson's fashion sense is definitely affected by his time spent in the Southwest.....he's often seen, as Edwards, sans jacket but opts for a Western bolo tie rather than the traditional silks the other canditates sport. See Vogue magazine's spread on John Edwards HERE & HERE.

While the shop sits a mere block from Hillary's headquarters here in Des Moines and within a mile of the epicenter of the caucus day's events, the only ties I have so far to the election glitz and glamour comes from a photograph sent to me by a favorite customer, Carol, of herself in a wonderful R&K Orginals 50's dress with full skirt and pintucked detail from the website, seen at a campaign event with contender Barack Obama....

More thoughts on the candidates fashion choices IN THE WASHINGTON POST. I hadn't realized Huckabee lost 100 pounds or that the public's impression of Mitt Romney's hair is that it doesn't move! Interesting read. More on the caucus later!

~Ang