For her: Open to riot clunkers
What do you wear when hardly anyone likes you at an event, i.e. at least the coalition partner has a bad time with you? Something totally official with an impenetrable armor effect, such as a prime pants suit with super defined shoulders, one would assume. Green politician Lisa Paus, who recently had a lot of money troubles with the finance minister, is sympathetically far from this way of thinking at the closed conference in Meseberg. She remains permeable – and wears a kind of soft blouse top, over classic trousers in green, with sneakers.
In principle, there is absolutely nothing wrong with such a combination in 2023, after all, you should be comfortable when working. It’s also a good move to leave the much too tight jackets to the FDP’s would-be Italians. However, with such a casual look, it is the subtleties that count. Everything here is one size too small to look really casual: the top should be a bit wider, the pants should be a bit more in the men’s cut, the sneakers could be a bit bulkier. The Minister for Family Affairs has probably already sensed this and dared to try to compensate with a huge plastic link chain, Old Prada style.
In fact, the accessory saves the authority of the look and signals: “I have something to say here too.” However, such a chain is in the way all the time – banging on the edge of the negotiating table with every movement. Maybe tactics.
For him: closed in the fall
Coat season is upon us, and the Chancellor is leading by example. In any case, he wore his dark short coat, a so-called car coat, with fervor at the cabinet meeting at Meseberg Castle. This is a classic coat variant that’s been a bit overlooked in recent years given the proliferation of trench coats, robe-tie wool coats, lightweight down and barbour jackets. It is – especially in combination with a suit underneath – a very attractive coat model that promises quiet elegance and makes its wearer appear serious but not too heavy.
As the name suggests, the “car coat” was initially associated with the advent of automobiles – initially as robust, warm protective clothing in the open bodies, later, when the cars had roofs and heating, the materials used became finer. Some details from his time in office are still obligatory today – the short cut, for example, which ends above the knees so that it can also be worn comfortably when sitting. Or the concealed button placket, which was once intended to prevent large coat buttons from getting in the way when driving or getting caught in the belt.
Today you don’t necessarily need these things in the car anymore, but you definitely need them in a traffic light coalition: no longer constantly getting tangled up in small things and always presenting a tidy image to the outside world – that’s what this meeting was about, somehow.