Obama on his jeans: 'I'm a little bit frumpy'
Photo credit: Getty Images | US President Barack Obama throws out the first pitch of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 14, 2009 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
Long Islanders talk about Obama's mom jeans
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President Barack Obama
The fashion heat goes on for President Barack Obama, who seems to be taking more than his fair share of criticism for the high-waisted, rumpled, baggy Levis he donned to throw out the first pitch at the Major League Baseball's All-Star Game in St. Louis last week.
"Today" show anchor Meredith Vieira ribbed the president again Tuesday. "I'm a little frumpy," he admitted. "I hate to shop, those jeans are comfortable. For those of you who want your president to look great in his tight jeans, I'm sorry. I'm not the guy."
But, ouch, the president's pants have been dubbed "mom jeans," referring to the unflattering cut that made it seem like the president had packed on some pounds in the vicinity of the gut and the butt.
Adam Rapoport, GQ magazine's style editor, offers a bit of denim advice to the president. "We're not asking our president to be a hipster, but he's young enough and fit enough to get away with a pair of straight-leg jeans that sit well. I would say this, stick with Levis, you're the president and you should be wearing American. We invented blue jeans."
For the record, Obama's not the only president to put on a pair of blue jeans, and some wore them better than others. Have a look:
The Texas cowboy
Some would say that George W. Bush looked better and far more comfortable in his trim-fitting cowboy jeans - often accessorized with a big, silver buckled belt - than he did in a suit. The real thang, says Rapoport. "He's at home on the range - if he wore them every day, he'd probably have had better approval ratings. He looked believable."
The movie star
C'mon, Ronald Reagan looked straight out of central casting in his denim, sometimes topped off with a jauntily cocked cowboy hat. Rapoport's take? "He's that old Hollywood type. And back then, you didn't buy your jeans pre-distressed. There's an authenticity."
Workman's comp
If he had a hammer - and with his work on Habitat for Humanity, he often did - well, you could rest assured that Jimmy Carter would break out the worn denim jeans and plaid shirt and get down in the trenches. "These are the type of jeans to get the job done," says Rapoport.
The sportsman
Avid outdoorsman George H.W. Bush is practical but perhaps a tad nerdy with slim jeans and white socks. "I'm not feeling it," says Rapoport. "He's Ivy League, Connecticut, Maine, and I don't think he puts that much thought into it."
Bubba trouble
"Bill Clinton was the worst," says Rapoport. "That was the low point in American jeans, bad sort of acid-washed, faded and too tight in the crotch. Running shoes with jeans are OK on the pitching mound, but not with a blue blazer. Put on a pair of dress shoes or boots. Your aim is to look presidential, not to dress like Jerry Seinfeld."
