BNP SUCKS

The BNP are known for many things but style isn't one of them, as these pictures prove. The man on the left, Barry Bennett, is not too bad; a blue tie over a light blue shirt is never wrong. He's clearly demented though. Sample quote: "David Beckham is not white, he's a black man." That speaks for itself, surely...

It gets more interesting with Lee Barnes. He is quoted saying "the beating of Rodney King still makes me laugh", which is in itself a horrible thing to say. But his facial hair, suit and tie are also appalling. He makes me think of some weird and slimy magician in that silk shirt and golden tie. His wardrobe choices are enough reasons to stay away from BNP on the 4th of June, but don't forget to vote!   

Fashion in Politics interview on Viceland.com

http://www.viceland.com/fashion/2009/05/some-people-really-want-to-be-judged-on-appearances/#more-3332

Whatever people claim, when it comes down to it, fashion is all about making people like you. Even if your personality smells like a glove compartment full of arseholes, you’re only one sexy pair of jeans away from popularity and power. Everybody says they hate politicians, but in reality most politicians are actually pretty good at getting people to like them – so much so that they get to control the world. Obviously, then, they use fashion to help their dominance. David Hellqvist links the two on his blog, Fashion In Politics.


Why it took so long for some blogger to link the two is anyone’s guess. Hellqvist’s blog uses all that crap we know about fashion to try and decode the inner-mind of all those people with egos so big they want to rule us — otherwise known as politicians.

Vice: Being interested in fashion and politics is pretty unusual. Most fashion people are pretty scared of politics, right?
David Hellqvist: Yeah, that’s because traditionally fashion designers aren’t meant to interfere in politics. The thing is, most politicians don’t understand what a powerful way of communicating fashion is, except the despots and dictators, of course.

Can fashion ever really be political?
A lot of the time fashion is square and predictable, but sometimes it’s anarchic and rebellious, which are political things. It’s easy to print slogans on t-shirts like Vivienne Westwood does, but that’s boring. The political standpoint should be made by the wearer, not the designer. For example, Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wears a beige windbreaker and a white shirt to try and make out he’s one of the people, while Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez is a master at showing off his socialistic convictions by wearing a red beret or a red lambs wool pullover .

Why did you set up the blog?
People say they find politics boring but they do care about who the people leading them are. Fashion is a big part of that cult of personality and celebrity. So I wanted a blog where I could write about all of that.

Do you wish you were a politics writer?
No, a politician! I’d style myself on Fidel Castro or Chile’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet, but not in terms of politics, obviously. I would rock the Fidel look with some khaki combats on my days off and wear a Pinochet-esque black cape from YSL for state openings. Throw in a pair of Cutler & Gross sunnies and I’m all set to go.

Who are the most stylish people in politics?
The evil politicians always outdo the good ones when it comes to style. People like the Ugandan leader (and rumoured cannibal) Idi Amin. Or Jean Bedel Bokassa, the ruler of the Central African Republic in the 60s, who spent a third of his country’s budget on his crowning ceremony and declared himself Jesus’ 13th apostle, or Zaire’s leopard-print loving leader Mobuto Sese Seko. But it’s not just dead despots who make snappy dressers. Muammar Al-Gaddafi is always matching his hats and dresses and North Korea’s Kim Jong-il, with his comedy hair, platform shoes and amazing over-sized sunglasses. Sometimes he even turns out in just his bathrobe — that’s a dictator with sartorial attitude.

DARYOUSH HAJ-NAJAFI

Tamil Tiger Trouser

Say what you want about the Tamil Tigers and their ways of fighting a Sri Lankan civil war. The Tigers and their founder/leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, who was killed two weeks ago, has been resisitng the government's troops for over 25 years. 

Their aim was to create an independent Tamil state in the north east of Sri Lanka but, due to their cruel tactics, the Tigers was classed as a terrorist group in 32 different countries, before they recently gave up the fight. Velupillai Prabhakaran himself was wanted by Interpol and Indian authorities.

But his policies aside, Velupillai Prabhakaran was a man of style. Just look at this image of him in his uniform. Uniform patters are dictated by the different surroundings of a particular war zone and luckily for the Tigers, their landscape produced these gorgeously brown, beige and green shapes. 

I also like his belt and gun, which seems very hi-tech compared to the rest of him. The hat and moustache nicely fits in and the 'necklace' which rests in his breast pocket makes me almost think he uses a stylist...

Yulia Tymoschenko, the PMilf of Ukraine, on VICELAND.COM

Let’s call out everybody on the Michelle Obama is a fashion icon bullshit – she looks like a hobo compared to Ukraine’s Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko: the Princess Leia of Ukraine, the Slavic Joan of Arc, the PMilf, or, as Russia’s Ukraine-hating tabloids call her, the “cake with ears”. She’s currently battling Ukraine’s top dog, President Viktor Yushchenko in the run up to the country’s presidential election.

But who cares about him? He’s only famous for his face (which was deformed when the Russians poisoned him) and maybe for leading the Orange revolution in 2004. No biggie. Expect her to win because not only does she look like Hitler’s dream date but she’s fierce as hell; during the revolution she was seen on TV smashing prison windows. Weirdly, her daughter’s boyfriend is from Leeds and is the singer in heavy metal band the Death Valley Screamers. Rock on, Yulia.

DAVID HELLQVIST

Michelle Oboden

News has reached these shores that the First Lady is about to order clothes from British catalogue brand Boden. Michelle is already an avid fan of cheap American High Street label J Crew, so it was only a question of time before she decided to dabble in British fashion.

But she is no stranger to English  designers. This is her wearing a Basso & Brooke dress, which has been cut into a top. Lately Michelle has also been seen in Richard Nicoll accessories and Jonathan Saunders clothing...

MARGARET THATCHER - THREE DECADES ON - A STYLE GUIDE

It was 30 years since Tory King (Queen?) Pin Margaret Thatcher came to power last week. Depending on who you ask, she either ruined this country beyond recognition or saved its failing glory.

For me it's a pretty easy decision. She managed, probably not intentionally though, to bring out the very worst in people and politicians and left Britain gasping for air when she finally got kicked out. She privatised half the country, just about killed of the mining business, their strike and any half-decent attempt by anyone to form unions.

She also kept the old imperialistic flame burning by going to down to the Falklands to keep it British (Yeah, it's just around the corner from the British Isles, surely it can't belong to Argentina, which is thousands of miles away from the Falklands...)

Anyway, we're not here to lambast Thatcher. Things aren't exactly great now either (Thanks Brown and Blair: Expenses, Cash for honours, Iraq, NHS etc).

There is an interesting debate these days on whether Thatcher should get a state funeral when she dies. Others, like comedian Frankie Boyle, are pondering if she even needs to be dead when we bury her...But the point this time around is to have a closer, stylistic, look at the old Iron Lady.

This is perhaps one of the better MT photos; ice cold blue, yet crisp, oufit and a very serious face. Nice pearls. This is Thatcher at her best

Golden Olden. I don't believe in gold clothes, not even for the Iron Lady. And posing underneath your own statue is never a good look, Maggie...

No wonder they kicked her out. What most people don't know is that what her cabinet was mostly annoyed with was not her politics, but this bloody jacket....

and this one.....tweed? How predictable!

Floral was big in 89, apparently. Reagan looks old here, but he was quite a stylish POTUS come to think of it. Shame about the politics though!

In her older days Maggie has gone quite colourful...

White House Humour

"I believe my next 100 days in office will be so successful that I will able to complete them in 72 days. And on the 73rd day I will rest".

No More Red Face Mr Brown

A junior No. 10 aid has managed to leave a folder containing Gordon Brown's make up instructions in a cab, which was handed to The Sun. It's quite a substantial list, Browny...

1. Transparent brush. Foam all over.

2. Small pot under eyes, dimple, creases, blend in.

3. Clinique. Super balanced make-up. All over again, like painting a wall, and ears. Shut eyes over lids then with make-up pad smooth over liquid.

4. Powder (dark brush) terracotta Guerlain, all over.

CAROLINE FLINT - MP AND BB

Blair Babes - a name coined for the young ladies who joined Tony Blair in Parliament when Labour won the 1997 election - are almost a dying breed by now. Either today's Labour Ladies joined up later on...or they're just not Babes...

As contradictory as the term is (Blair and babes?) it's a good measure of much we value the aesthetics, as well as characteristics, of our politicians. We should be glad the Parliament isn't just full of flannel, dandruff and insoles. And Caroline Flint, Labour Minister for Europe and one of the last few true Blair Babes, is still standing strong, and in heels, of course.

After 12 years in Parliament and a front bench job, Caroline makes the prospect of a life in politics attractive, and not the same can be said of Hazel Blears, Jacqui Smith and Margaret Beckett...

Augusto Pinochet Style Guide

This is a style guide to Chile's previous leader Augusto Pinochet, one of the world's last true right wing dictators...

Sunglasses is always a good idea - sun or no sun, it makes you look cool and in charge...

Pinochet was always one for a good cape (both over and under) and it is a very effective way to get that Zorro look, even if you were pretty far away from his looks and kindness, Augusto...

Augusto Pinochet and Fidel Castro  - this is actually quite an odd combination...

...but this isn't...

Over and Out

SILVIO MUSSOLINI & BENITO BERLUSCONI

Who can tell them apart - in either looks or politics...

Michelle Obama Hearts Lanvin

Michelle Obama has a bit of a reputatiaion these days as a High Street Shopper. She, and her children, has at many occansions been seen sporting J.Crew, a cheap American brand. This is of course a clever move in regards to the current financial climate and as an antidote to how the electorate views high-earning politicains and their families.

But Michelle also has another side to her wardrobe. A slightly more expensive and sophisticted version of clothes has begun to transpire. These Lanvin trainers, for example, was shown off the other day. They retail for £365 and, like similar brands, only seem to be more and more expensive for every season that pass. No sign of recession here! But we don't have a problem with MO wearing Lanvin trainers or clothes. They might be expensive, but they are nevertheless classy. I can't really picture Laura Bush wearing them...