The importance of appearance has never been lost on Roger Stone, the polemical political operative and erstwhile advisor to, amongst others, Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Trump. It was something he underlined last year in his book Stone’s Rules: How to Win at Politics, Business, and Style. Of his 140 rules, 54 are about clothes.
So it was no surprise that he dressed with both forethought and great care for his recent appearance at the federal court in Washington DC (top and below), where he pleaded not guilty to felony charges in the Special Counsel Investigation into the Russian government’s attempts to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. It’s the one that Robert Mueller is undertaking.
Out of Mr Stone’s wardrobe came a smart, understated, three-button navy suit. A smart, understated, three-button, bespoke Richard James navy suit, to be precise. Which was an altogether understandable choice if you are familiar with Stone’s Rule no. 30: ‘A well-cut dark blue suit is required for any public performance where credibility and authority are key.’
And then, to further clarify his reasoning, he released a pointed three-minute video (below) through The Daily Caller entitled Roger Stone Explains How to Dress For Court. “I wanted to dress in a little more muted way,” he explained. “Yet it’s important to always look great. This is a custom-made suit that is at least thirty years-old that was made by Richard James, a very fine tailor in Britain.”
As the caption that appeared on the quickly-banned Lift cinema commercial that we produced in 1997 put it: Richard James: Menswear for every occasion.
