Rishi Sunak’s “baffling” wardrobe choices could turn off voters – and potentially help Labour win the next general election – a style expert has suggested.
And it’s also being claimed that the Prime Minister has just had his very own “Ed Miliband Eating A Bacon Sandwich moment”. ‘Red Ed’ famously lost the 2015 election to David Cameron after he was photographed struggling to eat a breakfast butty.
Fashion-blogger Derek Guy believes clothing and fashion blunders can distract from a politician’s political messages. And he singled out the Prime Minister as someone he considers to be seriously sartorially challenged.
In a bitchy blast on X, the social media platform that was formerly named Twitter, Guy took aim at Sunak’s penchant for ‘half-mast’ trousers and sleeves.
“Baffling to me how the wealthiest UK prime minister in history could live just steps away from Savile Rrow, the single greatest concentration of skilled bespoke tailors, and end up paying $2k for an MTM [made-to-measure] suit with sleeves and trousers 2-4″ too short.”
Sharing a series of unflattering photos of the PM, Guy wrote: “Some people suggest Sunak does this to make himself look taller (he’s 5’7″), but I don’t think this sort of pseudo-science holds water. If you are surprised Sunak is 5’7”, it’s because you only see him in photographs where he’s not standing next to someone, not bc of his bad tailoring.
“In the real world, it’s obvs when someone is shorter or taller than us, regardless if they wear short pants.”
Some on social media thought Sunak could be “trying to not look old or out of touch”, because “short seems to be the style”. Guy, however, believes high-flying cuffs are a fashion fail.
“Ironically, I think this sort of outfit makes a man look very middle-aged,” he replied.”It’s a 20 yr old trend and young people are wearing baggier clothes.”
Guy’s sniping on social media about the sartorial decisions made by the rich and powerful has won him more than 460,000 followers. And, last month, he said male politicians in the United States “dress like c**p”, in a column he wrote for the US-based Politico newspaper.
Guy wrote: “Male politicians are wearing ill-fitting suits, orphaned suit jackets paired with light-washed jeans, trousers that puddle around their ankles and sweaters crammed into too-small jackets,” he wrote in the article.
“These faux pas mostly go unnoticed during non-election years. But for presidential candidates on the campaign trail, these kinds of clothing missteps can cause unnecessary headlines and take attention away from their message.”
One example of this phenomenon happening in the UK could perhaps be seen in 2014. However, it was a simple sandwich rather than a too-short suit that some say cost Labour the 2015 election.
The party’s then-leader, Ed Miliband, created headlines – and launched a million memes – when a photo emerged of him struggling to eat a bacon butty. However, whether this truly distracted the voting public from the political message ‘Red Ed’ was selling is perhaps a matter of conjecture.
Many voters probably just thought he looked like a bit of plonker.
However, one social media user suggested Sunak may also have just had his “Ed Miliband Eating A Bacon Sandwich moment”. They shared a photo of the PM (poorly) pulling a pint of stout.
The picture was taken as the PM was heckled during a visit to a beer festival yesterday (August 1) where he was promoting a shake-up of the alcohol duty regime that will increase tax on a range of drinks. Sharing the image on X, @seej500. said: “He’s lost the general election right here,” said “Labour can just pop this on some billboards with a caption like HOW TORIES RUN BRITAIN & it’s done, total wipeout.”
