President Obama’s Town Hall Facebook extravaganza yesterday was a monumental in so many ways: the emergence of social media as a major platform of communication, the dawning of a new generation of business leaders, and Mark Zuckerberg’s (lack of) pants.
The Facebook CEO thumbed his nose at the stale tradition of ironed slacks and embraced the jeans-and-tie look. Zuck’s blue jeans were even accompanied by a pair of white sneakers, because that’s how the kids roll.
It seems he pulled it off, though. The dorm-couture ensemble might be unacceptable for, say, an entry-level job interview—but this is Silicon Valley. They bring dogs to work here, don’t they?
Here are five things, however, that you should definitely not wear when you meet the president.
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1. Printed tees
I know it’s tempting to wear your tattered Black Flag shirt from ’85 or the trendy “Three Wolf Moon.” But please abstain from doing this during your meet-and-greet with the president. Think about the point in your life when you need to explain to your grandkids what the band No Age was.
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2. Jeggings
This should go without saying, but really anything of the tight and/or sweatpant variety is off-limits. Even if you’re meeting Obama and Reggie Love for a friendly game of pickup b-ball at the White House courts, get something a bit classier. A pair of Puma running pants would suffice. Just don’t get the ones with the sexy mud-flap insignia.
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3. Douchey sunglasses
You’re not going windsailing or snowboarding. Take off those Oakleys. They make you look like a dick, anyway. Go for some aviators. However, get something tinted and not all black. You don’t want to be mistaken for secret service.
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4. American-flag lapel pins
It’s not a contest to see how patriotic you are. You love America—OK, we get it. You don’t need to scrawl it across your forehead, or for the matter, attach a flag to your freakin’ jacket. It’s tacky. You’re trying too hard. Get rid of it.
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5. Anything with open toes
Cover your feet, all of them. I don’t care how manicured you are down there, it’s too risky. You don’t want to face that awkward moment when the leader of the free world looks down at your flip-flops and sees something that’s not supposed to be there—dryer lint, a tree branch, some goat cheese from your cucumber sandwich. You never know, you don’t check down there often.
—Images via huffingtonpost.com, amazon.com, jeggings.tv, thepushpin.com, 1.bp.blogspot.com, noblesseoblige.org
I am an imigrant from a repressive country and I am proud to be now be an American. Obviously you take your freedom for granted and don’t know that our flag is a symbol of freedom around the world. I would die for that flag! It doesn’t stand for perfection, we do have our flaws, but if you had to live without what it represents for as long as I did you would never express shame or distain for wearing the flag with anyone anywhere. Grow up!
Please add Dockers to the list, cause if you’re older than 22 you should wear a pair of grown up pants!