(If this blog had archives, I would link you to the many clever posts I have written in the past about menswear, but since it doesn’t you’ll just have to take my word for it.)

Barack Obama had two signatures in his dress during the campaign: blue ties with charcoal suits – which passes for daring in the uniformity of Washington – and contemporary-cut suits, which are appropriate for his age and build. Yesterday he showed up to get inaugurated in the red tie + navy suit uniform of Washington, signifying that rumours of Change are overrated, and baggy, pleated, cuffed pants ending above some business-casual shoes.

The last time anyone cared what a President wore to their inauguration was when Kennedy wore his hat (and morning dress), so Barack can be excused for just throwing something on during the day. But his evening dress is inexcusable: a weird hybrid of suit, black-tie and white-tie – exactly the kind of thing upper-class families dress The Help in so there’s no mistaking them as guests. This outfit would easily have made one of my Oscars worst-dressed lists. (The invitation specified black-tie, which means Michelle was overdressed in her ball gown.)

Maybe the transition team overlooked someone to help Barack get dressed in the morning? I can only hope that a protocol officer in Clinton’s State Department takes care of him before he makes a serious mistake, like wearing a tie to sit down with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.