No more Dior!

After the second one of those ugly glasses of red wine, we, three friends, came to the conclusion that looking good in Darel instead of adoring Dior could have saved the career of France’s flamboyant justice minister! How is that for Bazaar Politics?

"The first lady may wear Chanel or Galliano, she is the first lady," said the expert as we nodded in agreement. "But a minister cannot look extravagant. She should know her level."

Red lipstick on his collar looks great in a screen romance, but it is out of place in a cabinet meeting, he added. Same applies for a Rolex watch.

"Swatch is only acceptable if you are a Nordic minister. Otherwise, a discreet Cartier is fine for a French minister," he added. "Not Cartier jewelry though. Just the watch."

Talking Turkey

You may think that Turkish politicians, in their gray suits, hardly had any trouble on that front. We Turks simply accept the fact that our politicians would be badly dressed and that the last Turkish statesman who was noted for his utter chic was Atatürk.

On the other hand, it would be wrong to think that Turks are indifferent to how their politicians look. Take Mrs. Çiller, with her famous white two-piece suits, stressing the point that she was opening a lily-white page in the Turkish history. (Since then, it has become a Turkish reflex to worry about corruption whenever we hear the word "white.")

Versace scarf

Then there was the Versace scarf of Necmettin Erbakan, the one-time mentor of today’s PM. Mr. Erbakan had a deep dislike of anything European, except textile from Italy and donations from Germany from the Turks who lived there.

"So what does Erdoğan wear?" asked a Belgian friend and I realized that Mr Erdağan, no matter what he wears, looks good. Not chic, but good.

More or less the same applies for President Gül, except his big error with a flashy smoking vest.

Wearing the shirt

"I do not like it when politicians wear brown," said my friend. "You can always tell the difference between a small town politician and someone destined for greater things in politics by his shoes. If it is this yellowish brown, he will remain in local politics forever."

"If you are left wing, blue shirts," said another friend who spoke briefly as an image-maker for a politician. "People think of late Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit and his honest and for-the-people image. On the other hand, if you are right wing and populist, white shirt with sleeves rolled up, the style of Cem Uzan. It gives you a self-made man look, even if you were born with a silver spoon."

"And if you really want to appear as one of the people?" I asked.

"Then you wear a crumpled suit all the time," said a friend. "President Demirel has done it for years."

On a daily basis, though, it has always been the clothes of the female members of the Cabinet who caught more attention.

"I hate it when she wears that black suit," a photojournalist said as he snapped Nimet Çubukçu, at a conference on violence against women. "When she wears color, the news makes the front page."