Do you think that kind of classic American look — Ralph Lauren, the Oxford shirt — will it stay in the MAGA realm forever or do you see it changing?
However, I don't think the classic American aesthetic is entirely MAGA. I think of the Brooks Brothers look as the ABCs of menswear; It's like a very classic American analog look. In the post-war period, right after the end of World War II, there was a cultural clash between the established lifestyle—the man in a gray flannel suit who works in a corporate job and a traditional type of nuclear family—and the white pickets. The fence is home—and the counterculture. It was kind of the liberal side of the political spectrum. They wore workwear and chambray shirts, hippie gear, motorcycle jackets. All that became counterculture.
But if you go back even further, everyone from criminals to CEOs, liberals and Republicans wore tailored clothing. Ralph Lauren might not have built his empire if button-down shirts and penny loafers were exclusively conservative attire.
I think it's interesting that the current state of Republican politics is trying to unify the Brooks Brothers aesthetic with gold sneakers. Do you see them coming together?
I think it's a weird contradiction right now, because the MAGA movement and Republicans in general have always looked to some idea of America. Even though not every man wore a suit in the 1950s, the suit is historically associated with the bourgeois lifestyle. And in general a lot of conservatism is about perpetuating bourgeois lifestyles, morality, identity, politics, etc.
There is now a populist wing of the Republican Party that is not about Reaganism or Bush. It's about Trump. And its aesthetic is very different from what William Buckley might have worn. William Buckley may not have worn gold sneakers.
I think they are different and contradictory, but people can have contradictory thoughts in their minds. We are in an era where politics is very tribal. And as long as it fits the narrative of our tribe, I think it's consistent with that group. For Republicans, I think they have two very contradictory aesthetics within the party right now.
People in tech are new to the MAGA crowd, but many have noticed a significant change in appearance, most notably Mark Zuckerberg. Can you elaborate on what they are trying to signal and to whom?
I've heard this from within my industry [Elon Musk] Used to be a stylist. I don't think he has a stylist anymore. Mark Zuckerberg denies being a stylist, but I don't believe him. I would say he's definitely been going through a style transformation in the last year and three months. Jeff Bezos apparently has a stylist. I don't think what they are doing has anything to do with politics. I think Jeff Bezos went through a style makeover after his divorce. And I suspect Mark Zuckerberg is tired of dressing like a college student. Elon has apparently given up on his stylist and doesn't dress very well.
[Zuckerberg] Dress like an MMA guy. She is wearing boxy tees and a gold chain. But he looks like someone who has updated his look to be more trendy. There are a lot of people who are wearing that shape and gold chains and I don't know if it says anything about their politics.
We saw a lot of “Spaghetti Western” vibes happening. What is your opinion on this?
As a fashion trend, the Western look is actually more eclectic at the moment, as it is popular in big cities. Conservatives now dress like early 2000s metrosexuals and liberals dress like Bush-era conservatives. The conservatives are into slim-tight suits or slim-fit suits and then the liberals are into things like Carhartt double-knees, Western shirts, cowboy boots. Some of this is naturally to the right because it is a Midwestern look.
But Elon Musk, like Jeff Bezos, often wears cowboy boots.