Why is it that communist distators 9like Kim-Jong Il) seem to prefer plain looking clothes? The little pisspot appears wearing those quasi-military tunics-why doesn’t he wear a decent Armani suit? or Fidel castro, always in army fatigues-why? At least saddam Hussein had an eye for fashion-but those commies-why the cheap outfits? :o
They are supposted to be “workers”.
As in “workers’ revolution”. :rolleyes:
While dictators’ public appearance may be plain, in order to appear In Solidarity with the Common Man[sup]TM[/sup], their taste in interior decoration is evidently something else.
Dictator Style: Lifestyles of the World’s Most Colorful Despots
Dictator Eye for the Oppressed Downtrodden Worker Guy?
Someone had to say it…
Radical chic.
Ha ha ha!!! That was good.
Ordered this through I.L.L.
Many thanks.
I guess I’m interested in the approach of communist dictators, as opposed to the kings and queens of days gone by. Monarchs usually like to dress in extremely showy ways (uniforms, decorations, etc.). whereas the commies go for those plain outfits, even though their palaces are quite another story. Anyway, when did the Chinese ditch the mao-suits? the current leadership seems to favor snazzy suits, with restarined neckties. Should’t litlle kim Jong Il upgrade his wardrobe?
The problem is, there’s no one (barring you) to tell Kim he looks like a total moron. When you’re surrounded by yes-men, you end up developing the idiosyncratic style of a doofus. But God, what an unprepossessing figure that guy cuts. I saw a bit of video the other day of him ambling onto a stage, to enthusiastic applause, and thought – he’s got nothing. No charisma, no energy, no nothing. Say what you will about Hitler, you at least couldn’t keep your eyes off him.
So, he’s more the Donald Pleasence depiction of Ernst Starvo Blofeld rather than the Telly Savalas version?
Let’s face it, most dictators just aren’t…hip. Castro’s been sporting that beard for nigh on fifty years now, which was really cool back when the beatnicks were mumbling their way through evenings at the coffeehouse but has since fell out of favor with everyone except radical ecoterrorists and Hasadic Jews. Mao wasn’t exactly swinging with the Gang of Four through the Sixties, and the Duvaliers were pimp-chic at best, especially Bébé Doc. Iosif Vissarionovich had a certain imposing presence but a taste in military attire that looked like it was purchased from the Salvation Army. The Trujillos had such gaudiness to put even the worst excesses of the XIIXth Century French and Austrian royalty to shame. And the less said about Reagan’s affinity for plaid suits, the better. Don’t even get started on Generalissimo Francisco Franco (who is, by the way, still dead). And the Marcos family…the shoes were just the tip of the iceberg.
Oh, you can rationalize it as they just want to be like the common man, or that nobody wants to tell them how awful the Mr. T look really is, or that you just can’t get a good tailor in Panama, but the truth is that dictators just don’t have good fashion sense. Yet another reason to support liberal democracy.
Stranger
Still, Stalin had a decent haircut.
Naw, Stalin just had good hair.
Kim Jong Il II’s jacket looks to me to be a Mao jacket, just as they used to wear over the border until Western-style suits came into vogue.
The weather in Korea is quite cold during certain seasons of the year; in that respect a jacket that goes all the way up to the neck seems rather practical and sensible.
Stalin had the second best hair in the Soviet Union. But the very best hair was Trotsky’s - the conflict between the two men was inevitable.
Say what you like about dull dictators, Idi Amin had some serious bling. He was just so accessorized!
And Gadaffi reinvents himself like Madonna.
Judging from those preview pages, Lenin had a surprisingly modest home.
As did Ho Chi Minh. I visited his house in Hanoi, and it was small and adequate, nothing palatial. Apparently he requested that when he died, his body be buried without ceremony by the house. Instead, the north Vietnamese government diverted funds from the Viet Cong in order to build him the biggest mofo mausoleum I’ve ever seen, including importing thousands of tons of marble for it. Dorks.
Lenin also didn’t have great hair.
The traditional fashions sported by communist dictators (Kim, Fidel etc.) were inspired by Lenin and later by Stalin.
They bought all their clothes at the Soviet equivalent of the Army & Navy stores simply because they couldn’t find a tailor stupid enough to fit them for a decent suit. I can well understand this negative stance. If I had a job which involved a regular risk of accidently touching Stalin’s balls I think I’d pre-book my train to the Gulag.