Suited and booted, a man can present any of the most agreeable, intimidating, towering, revered and even ludicrous personalities. Suits, coats and trousers are western garments but as formal dresses they have hardly any equals. The majority of nations, except a few like the Sri Lankans and Myanmars or Bamars, have now adopted suits and coats as their formal dresses.
However, men have been far more enthusiastic than their female counterparts in imitating the garments that have taken the world by storm. Pant and shirt have almost become a universal dress. Even in villages the common outfit for young men -irrespective of the educated, half-educated or even illiterate - obviously is shirt or T-shirt and trousers. Girls seldom go for jeans and tops or T-shirt in rural society. Even in urban culture, such dresses are primarily a preserve for girls of a select society.
Dabbling in dresses is not any one's business -least of all when it concerns fashion and style for official decorum. But the country's prime minister certainly reserves the right to remind her male cabinet colleagues that following the Westerners is not always a very nice trend. She chided those wearing suits at this time of the year when the Bangla calendar declares it is spring as yet but in fact temperature is rather soaring. In the short-lived spring or summer, people in the West get rid of their heavy dresses. But their followers in the tropical countries are not willing to get into lighter dresses lest their august presence or distinctive look gets dented.
Let alone ministers or top bureaucrats, there are a few funky characters who would not leave their worn-out and untidy coats or suits for even a day. When summer heat takes its heavy toll, these weird creatures silently suffer the extreme discomfort. At least the fortunate few who can afford air-conditioned cars and whose offices are chilled by heavy-duty machines, have the advantage of staying in an environment where they do not have to boil inside.
The ministers or bureaucrats certainly have the advantage of enjoying this benefit most of the time. Their only problem is when they have to deliver speeches before the public in an open space. The premier's reproach may bring about a temporary change in the dressing habit of ministers but she cannot bring about a mental transformation. Leaders of eminence around the world have introduced their trademark dress often synchronised with national ethos and tradition. Mahatma Gandhi went to the extreme by accepting the loin cloth the average Indians could afford. The picture of his bare torso and loin cloth is a complete contrast to the suited, booted barrister that he was in his prime of youth. Chittaranjan Das, another highly regarded politician of India, had his suits washed from a Paris laundry but then the same man opted for 'khaddar,' a type of locally woven coarse cloth.
Gone are those days when leaders felt they represented their people. Today leaders and the advanced segment of society feel they are different. Rich, aristocratic maybe, they think they have the right to enjoy the best of opportunities. Enlightenment, though, is a different proposition, which is conspicuous by its absence.
Dress code or sticking to tradition
Neil Ray | Published: April 13, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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