Sharp Suits, Rolexes, and Aviators: How President Biden Brought His Sartorial A-Game to the Oval Office
Welcome to State of the Suit, a new Robb Report series in which writer and menswear stylist Caroline Reilly examines the sartorial choices of candidates, pundits, and other movers and shakers. Whether it’s an ode to a departing president’s timeless style or a fantasy list of items we think would better suit a prominent figure, she has plenty of thoughts.
Last week, President Joe Biden announced he’d be withdrawing from the 2024 presidential election; when his time in office comes to an end, it will mark the end of a decades-long career as a public servant, in the Senate, as Vice President under Obama, and as President for the last four years. And so, it seems fitting to dedicate this – the inaugural dispatch of State of the Suit – to a man whose illustrious political career is rivaled only by his reputation as one of the finest-dressed politicians of a generation.
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Even at 81 years of age, Biden remains a blueprint for how to wear clothes and look good doing it. Whether he’s delivering a speech or disembarking from Air Force One, his suits are cut slim to his physique but retain their movement. Nary a hem is too long, a shoulder too taught – men of all ages would be wise to bring a photo of him to their tailor if they’re looking for an instructive muse for the ideal break in a trouser, or how much shirt cuff to expose beneath a jacket sleeve.
Biden’s style is marked by a quiet refinement; simple, precise tailoring, timeless silhouettes, and an all-American penchant for polo shirts, chinos, and blue and white striped shirts. His color choices are almost unfailingly superlative. He often smartly opts for rich deep navy suits, white or blue shirts, – or my personal favorite, a blue and white stripe – and solid or simply printed ties. These choices reveal not only an understanding of the precise complementary science behind pairing a suit with the right shirt and tie but of the way in which a man’s palette must work as well, with the way he looks. Biden’s oceanic blue eyes, glinting million-dollar smile, and coif of lily white hair are only accentuated by the saturated blue suits and the starched shirts he chooses—and I would wager, that’s not an accident.
It’s an art he’s perfected all his life. As the New York Times noted back in April, Biden has long been the sartorial darling of politics. In 1974, the Washingtonian called him one of the best-dressed men in the Senate; the Chicago Tribune called him the “best-dressed guy” at Clinton’s 2000 State of the Union. Designers Tom Ford, Todd Snyder, and Sid Mashburn are among the notable admirers of Biden’s taste. He famously keeps mum about the particulars of where he buys his clothing, though hawkeyed onlookers have pieced together brand names and favorites over the years ranging from bespoke suits from Wright & Simon, a local tailor in Wilmington Delaware, to Jos. A Bank. For his inauguration, Biden wore a navy topcoat and suit designed by Ralph Lauren and constructed in the Hickey Freeman factory in Rochester, New York.
Where Biden’s style really shines, though, is when he has the opportunity to dress down. He looks just as comfortable in a black turtleneck under a collegiate brown wool sportcoat, or a classic Ralph Lauren polo with pleated chinos as he does in a bespoke suit. Whether he’s sporting a leather bomber jacket and a simple black cap or a rare-but-notable denim look, Biden’s casualwear is unfussy but traditional, exuding both ease and class.
Dressed up or down, his clothing is unquestionably luxurious – though not in the gauche sense that it telegraphs wealth or status, but in the utilitarian sense that it is finely constructed, meticulously curated, and seamlessly tailored.
An analysis of Biden’s style wouldn’t be complete without addressing the man’s elite accessory game; whether he’s swapping a pair of spiffy suspenders out for a slim western-style belt with silver hardware, or donning his iconic Ray Ban aviators, Biden understands that the finishing touches of an outfit are just as important as the fundamentals. His watch collection, which includes models from Omega and Seiko, also includes a beautiful stainless Rolex Datejust (a gift from the First Lady) with a blue dial, which he debuted at his inauguration—to a gentle tsk tsk from the New York Times. But what that derision fails to appreciate is that Biden is from a generation long before the days of years-long waiting lists, when resellers could clear twice the retail value for a newly released model—when Rolexes were not reserved for the elite. When these durable, even tactical watches were purchased by people from a broad spectrum of society as an investment or to pass down as a family heirloom, a long saved-for gift, or a token to commemorate a career milestone (not to mention, their operational value for CIA agents).
For Biden, a man of humble beginnings, that career milestone just so happened to be his becoming the 46th president of the United States. And while there’s much to discuss about what’s next for Biden, I like to think he’ll reward himself with another timepiece to mark the end of a Rolex-worthy career in politics.
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