Well, riffing on public image, there's this:
Dressing Funny and the Challenges of Casualwear.
It's an in-depth review of a new Netflix comedy series where the host tries to dress the celebrity guest in casual wear that is more and more ridiculous until they purportedly "look amazing." Two main themes that caught my attention were 1) the abandonment of dignity - wouldn't people contesting for national office need to suggest a level of dignity?
Though recently a comedian won the election for Ukrainian presidency.
And 2) the need for others - the audience for your clothing - to understand what they're supposed to be taking away from viewing your appearance.
"All style, including the traditional coat-and-tie, is about learning a
visual language. The main difference is that, while everyone understands the language of suits — it’s the uniform of “respectability” — there are a million tribes in casualwear, each with their own language, which can make it difficult to understand something if you’re not already
acquainted with a look."
It doesn't (can't?) answer these questions but I like that it identifies them. There was a monograph on jeans wearing published some years ago by scholars who study communication with clothing. Their conclusion was that jeans are a universal garment worn and understood in most of the world and tend to communicate that you are democratic.
So should every one of those candidates for office be wearing jeans and if not, then that itself is a good start to questioning public image.
