It’s an age-old truism that what you say matters, but how you say it matters more. If you’re New Jersey senator Cory Booker, who just completed a record-breaking speech in the Senate in a black suit, a crisp white dress shirt, and a black tie, what you wear matters a lot, too. Booker’s dialed-in look (and his tie’s taut four-in-hand) didn’t just stand in contrast to the bloated Windsor knots and sloppy tailoring favored by the current regime, it also provides a valuable reminder of the power—and historical clout—of a monochromatic suit.
ICYMI: Booker made headlines yesterday by completing a 25-hour, 4-minute Senate speech, smashing the previous record set in 1957 by Strom Thurmond, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes to oppose the Civil Rights Act. Booker’s speech was both a monumental feat of physical endurance (no breaks, bathroom or otherwise, are allowed) and a rousing piece of political theater aimed at the Trump administration’s “complete disregard for the rule of law, the Constitution, and the needs of the American people,” as the senator put it. It was a much-needed win for the Democratic party, and a major accomplishment for Booker, who became New Jersey’s first Black senator in 2013.
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To prepare for the speech, Booker reportedly fasted for several days, limited his water intake, and wore comfortable shoes. His suit-shirt-and-tie combo—once the go-to uniform of American civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and Muhammad Ali—felt equally intentional, as much a way to channel the strength and fortitude of his forebears as to stick it to Thurmond’s racist legacy. “Of all the issues that have come up, all the noble causes that people have done or the things that people have tried to stop, I just found it strange that [Thurmond] had the record,” Booker told NPR. “And as a guy who grew up with legends of the Civil Rights movement myself, my parents and their friends, it just seemed wrong to me, it always seemed wrong.”
As with many iconic menswear looks, the strength of a black suit, a white shirt, and a black tie is in its apparent simplicity. Without color, pattern, or texture to distract the eye, it’s an exercise in high contrasts and precise details that can make you look both serious and powerful if you get it right. Which is a big “if.” Get it wrong and you run the risk of looking more like Michael Scott at a funeral than MLK Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial. For anyone interested in attempting it, it’s crucial to carefully consider everything from the fit and fabric of the suit to the width of the shirt collar and the knot of the tie. Of course, being on the right side of history doesn’t hurt, either.
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