If the cap fits, wear it. But not if your name is William Hague
The Foreign Secretary has never got over his fashion faux pas as Tory leader. So why repeat the crime?
Wednesday 25 August 2010
Latest in News
On Facebook
From the blogs
John Terry: How Sarah Palin got it right
It's been a notable week for the loss of titles: first Fred Goodwin, formerly a knight of the realm,...
The bitter taste of sugar prohibition
On Thursday, high-profile science journal Nature published a commentary by three academics, which ar...
The fight over the Port Said football narrative has already begun
It is a year to the day since the infamous camel charge during the Egyptian uprising. That day, Ultr...
Don’t be distracted by Goodwin’s dishonour
The purpose is to divert public attention from the fact that ministers have failed to do anything ab...
VIEW GALLERY
While fashion felons may find themselves regularly hauled up in front of the Style Council for their crimes, it isn't usually for a repeat offence. But William Hague's ill-judged flirtation with yet another baseball cap made for a sartorial trial, as pictures emerged of him wearing the accessory that famously lost him not only his street cred but also an election.
A 1997 publicity stunt, when Hague wore a similar hat emblazoned with his name while riding the log flume, was generally credited as destroying any chance he had of leading the Tories back into government. Now they're in power again and pictures have emerged of Hague once more sailing perilously close to ridicule. What was he doing, roaming Central London in such apparel? Perhaps he's one of those neurotic hand-wringers who get anxious when things are going too well.
But he doesn't look fazed by his choice of headgear, does he? William Hague is practically glowing in this Italian Riviera ensemble. From the loosely belted and low-slung jeans (in faded black, rather than a more modish indigo) to the long-sleeved T-shirt that he has carefully tucked in (summoning memories of his predecessor John Major's supposed penchant for firmly anchoring his shirts into his underpants), he is every inch the urbane modern gentleman – and just the sort that belongs in Casual Cameron's Cabinet.
Except Hague doesn't quite pull it off. It's obvious what he's done here: seen the Prime Minister in similar a laidback, louche outfit and thought, 'I can do that; I'm too hot in this suit, and I can do off-duty as well as the next man.' What he failed to realise is that relaxed leisurewear only looks good if you're posh. Just as he failed to look as chic as Princess Di on the flume, so he has fallen in the wake of shirtsleeves Dave and his Eton brand of sports casual.
Pundits will point out that the cap itself is a little tight-fitting, following too closely the lines of Hague's signature glabrous head. Pedants will note that he has plumped for one that looks like it might have come free with a car-valeting kit. (Rule of thumb: if a logo must be involved, at least opt for the most bling.) Purists may flag up the fact that Hague has hand-bent his cap's peak, like we all used to in the late Nineties to give it that worn look; the baseball cap kings of today leave theirs straight as a dye and let the item sit atop their heads rather than ramming it on, as if it might blow away at any minute. Nonchalant, innit.
But style quibbles aside, this hat speaks of classical tragedy. Hague's hamartia if you will – his fatal flaw – is his inexorable draw to the baseball cap. He narrowly escaped the wrath of the gods once before, but it's bare-faced hubris to wheel one out again. Will it be the source of his downfall?
Let that be a lesson for...
Conrad Black
When the former media magnate dressed as power-hungry Renaissance wheeler-dealer Cardinal Richelieu for Freddie Windsor's birthday in 2000, some cracked jokes at the apposite nature of his costume. After a stint in jail for fraud, Black would do better styling himself after The Man in the Iron Mask.
Elton John
Nothing screams excess like impersonating the Sun King on your 50th birthday. It wasn't enough for the singer, though, who also added a five-foot pompadour to the mix. His costume was so large he had to travel to his own party in the back of a removal van.
Andrew Neil
If life is already too Versailles for your own liking, why not try a bit of downwards convergence in the now-infamous manner of Neil. The only reason he gets away with a baseball cap (if you're reading, William) is because the vest diverts attention from it.
- 1 Did Banksy's latest work bring misery to a homeless man?
- 2 Cheerleader must compensate school that told her to clap 'rapist'
- 3 Robert Fisk: An attack on Tehran would be madness. So don't rule it out
- 4 Mona Lisa's 'twin sister' is discovered – 500 years late
- 5 Night in the cells accidentally became two years in solitary
- 6 The picture that shames Italy
- 7 The artist vandalising advertising with poetry
- 8 Europe is too emotional about fracking, says Shell chief
- 9 I don't want to go to Brighton
- 10 BANNED: The most controversial films
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Day In a Page
The $18bn family feud
What happens when an uncontacted tribe meets 'civilisation'?
Divine duck: Mark Hix cooks with the most succulent of birds
On the waterfront: Frank Meadow Sutcliffe's Whitby

Comments