Obama Finally Gets Tailored
"I said, 'Mr. President, you and me will make history'"
By ASHA BEH
Updated 8:12 PM EST, Thu, Oct 29, 2009
First lady Michelle Obama and her wardrobe have been making a statement since the campaign trail, but it only took an hour to set President Barack Obama on the road to fashion history.
And he wasn't doing it through J. Crew.
Over the weekend, the president was measured for two suits at the White House by Georges de Paris, the man who's known as "the tailor for the presidents."
De Paris, who's created suits for every president since Lyndon B. Johnson, studied for his profession in Marseilles. He came to D.C. because of love, but found himself homeless when the young lady he followed broke up with him, reportedly bathing in the Potomac and sleeping in a park near the White House.
He eventually found work as an assistant tailor, saved up enough money to buy his own sewing machine -- one he still uses today, NPR reports -- and open his own shop, which sits a couple of blocks away from the White House at Metropolitan Square.
So what did the President order from the famous tailor? Two black suits of finest English wool fabric.
During the one-hour fitting, de Paris said he recommended a two-button, single vent in the back style, The Hill reports.
To which, according to de Paris, the leader of the free world said, "I agree with that."
(We can only wonder if the first lady was there, adding her two cents to the matter. )
The tailor with the long, silvery hair did not reveal how much the suits cost, but his hand-sewn suits come with a starting price tag of $3,500.
In the end, the president handed de Paris a pair of presidential cufflinks, at which point de Paris told Obama, "Mr. President, you and me will make history."
First Published: Oct 29, 2009 8:30 AM EST
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