Team Trump believes in the power of image. The new president believes that a single photograph, re-tweeted ad nauseam, can form the basis of a narrative. He believes the actors in his White House drama should look the part, whether patriotic or powerful. Fashion is costuming.
In a striking case of character assassination by tailoring, Sean Spicer, the president's freshly appointed press secretary, stepped to the podium over the weekend for a briefing wearing a grey pinstriped suit jacket that looked as though it had been hurriedly borrowed from a man twice his size. The sleeves were sloppy; the collar didn't fit; the fabric looked cheap. The tie was poorly knotted. The shirt collar was so snug that his neck overflowed its boundaries. Spicer's attire was not just a tad ill-fitting. It was distracting and sloppy. It epitomised the cliché style of the used-car salesman. Spicer's clothes wholly undercut a message that was already riddled with falsehoods.
All that had changed by Tuesday. When Spicer returned to the press briefing room for a televised news conference, he was wearing a dark suit that fit. Not perfectly, but better. The tie was neat. He even had a white handkerchief tucked into his breast pocket. It was a visual do-over, one that suggested he was better prepared, more focused, more dignified. By Wednesday, Spicer seemed to have found his sartorial groove.
The Trump White House has been busy with optics over these past few days. The president still does not button his suit jacket and still wears his ties too long, but in recent days he has added a pocket square to his wardrobe - a nonessential flourish that gives his appearance more polish.
![The president embraces the pocket square. Photo / Matt McClain, The Washington Post](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/45ODPCJT3PZE3B5NQ667DGQAII.jpg?auth=36222f5e11cd8d983cb143880d04cff3dfd17a137b6ca06b15917499789dc2c0&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)