Read my socks

It used to be that if a man wanted to make a statement that he was flamboyant at heart, though hemmed in by convention, he wore a mildly daring tie. Say reindeer at Christmas. Or golf images during the spring thaw.

Well, Justin Trudeau has just moved the yardsticks about five feet—downwards. First, he was captured at his swearing-in ceremony wearing brown shoes with his royal blue suit. Then, to greet the provincial and territorial leaders at their first such meeting in 10 years, Trudeau sported—to complement his dark navy blue suit and black shoes—red socks set off with a white maple leaf pattern. While his brown shoes received a few tut-tuts from the style police, the sock gambit made the front page of the papers and Trudeau earned plaudits for his insouciance. Of course, many of Trudeau’s top advisers come from Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne’s bunker, from whence originated the red rubber boot; so a footwear initiative is hardly a novel concept.

But by wearing those white-on-red socks, Trudeau signalled that there is a new attitude at the top. Of course, when you are one of Vogue magazine’s newly crowned “10 unconventional alternatives to the sexiest man alive” (that’s a compliment, I think), you have an image to keep up. But more than attitude, perhaps socks (and, to a lesser extent, footwear) are going to be part of the Trudeau communication code. Trudeau is telling us “read my socks.”

Interesting, for example, that he did not wear red, white and blue socks when he visited with the Queen. What kind of statement was he making? That he cares more about protocol for the monarchy than he does for the Canadian federation? And what is he going to wear on Canada Day? The same old maple leaf socks? At the very least, he is going to have to go with red leaves on a white background. Or socks bearing the likeness of a national icon like Stompin’ Tom Connors or Celine Dion. Perhaps knitters across the country can rise to the challenge to create a new and appropriate pair of socks for Trudeau for every day he is prime minister. A pair of carbon neutral, zero footprint socks could be made for him for the upcoming Paris climate summit, for example. A pair of black and white bamboo socks might be created for the day he visits the panda cubs at the Toronto Zoo.

And what will Trudeau’s socks say for him as he ventures further afield? Let’s suppose that Trudeau meets with Russian president Vladimir Putin. The formal diplomatic note may say that the two leaders enjoyed a “full and frank exchange of views,” but if Trudeau were to wear mismatched socks to the encounter he would be telling the world “This guy may be a bit of a loose cannon, but you know what? So am I. He’d better think twice before he messes with Canada. Besides, he’s just some tinpot dictator for whom I couldn’t be bothered wearing matching socks.”

Or perhaps Trudeau, when he takes his family to meet the Obamas in the New Year, can have the bunch of them wear official Mickey Mouse socks (you can snag a 3-pair pack on eBay for $7.95), in order to acknowledge the socalled Disney clause in the TransPacific Partnership trade deal that will keep Mickey out of the public domain for another 20 years.

And perhaps if Trudeau were to meet Pope Francis (who by all accounts has a good sense of humour), why should he not sport some socks showing a person angling for a large bass. Trudeau can say, “You get to wear the shoes of the fisherman; so I get to wear the socks of the fisherman.”

With hindsight, it’s too bad for them that our failed party leaders didn’t twig to the concept of taking the sock gambit. Thomas Mulcair could have wowed the crowds by flashing his orange socks instead of going on about his balanced budget. Stephen Harper might have had to reach a little deeper into his gimmick closet to come up with a game changer—who knows, maybe no socks at all; but it would have been a better investment than making pretty with the Ford brothers.

And what of Trudeau’s followers? Is his cabinet now expected to show a little flair for the extravagant gesture— but not so much as to upstage the boss? Will finance minister Bill Morneau give his next news conference sporting a diamond-studded tie clip? Will indigenous affairs minister Carolyn Bennett make an announcement clad in multi-coloured leggings? There is obviously an acute need for a Liberal style guide. The last thing anyone wants is for someone like public safety minister Ralph Goodale to get the chop for wearing Bachman Turner Overdrive cufflinks in a misguided attempt to show some flair, only to find out he’s been sending a message that his fashion sense is so, well, yesterday.

See what you’ve started, Mr. Trudeau?

dsimmonds@wellingtontimes.ca