When in the public eye, the clothing choices of politicians can teach us a thing or two. Although the styles don’t vary greatly, their use colour is a big factor for addressing the audience and the message they want to portray.
Within the political arena there are two colours regularly used; red and blue. When worn, politicians feel that it gives them at extra edge.
Politicians are a “ME” brand, where the individual needs to be presented as a product so they can be sold to the voters. Hence the use of red and blue which in advertising are colours that people respond to.
Twitter has gone crazy with the fact that both candidates are wearing the opposing parties branding colours. However, it is not just about brand colours. Their choice of outfit has to do with the subliminal messaging that each candidate is looking to convey.
Although as I write this, it has also occurred to me that if people make an association with colours belonging to a certain party, then on a subliminal level wearing opposing colours may attract some of the opposition party faithful. But this is just my thought and one with potential mileage, although I feel there are more strategic reasons as to why they wore what they wore.
Why did Hillary Clinton wear Red?
Red is seen as a dominant colour and is an ideal colour for Hillary when going up against Trump who already comes across as dominant. At 6’2” Trump is perceived as being stronger and having more intelligence, so therefore seen as a leader; whereas Clinton is only 5’5”.
This the first time a woman has run for president and we are in unprecedented ground here, as traditionally taller people usually get elected.
By wearing red she is looking to counter-balance this perceptive advantage that Trump has over her by looking more powerful, assertive and decisive.
Because of her height, her advisors have wisely put her in a red trouser suit. By wearing one solid colour from top to bottom she creates the illusion of being taller than she is. It’s a clever trick, as our eyes are genuinely drawn to look up and down. She has also gone as far as not having any visible detail on her suit jacket, thus creating a linear look and so not distracting our eyes from looking up and down.
Should you choose to wear red, you could even go one step further, as it is associated with sexuality and potentially is making Hillary more desirable, particularly to male voters.
Research has shown that wearing red has been found to boost performance, particularly on detailed orientated activity, like memory retrieval. Now I am not sure if this is just a coincidence or part of her strategy, but on a live debate, it gave the added bonus helping with her superior political knowledge.
Why did Donald Trump wear blue?
It was pretty much a certainty that Trump was going to wear a dark blue suit and a crisp white shirt, and he predictably wore a blue tie, on this occasion a royal blue one.
Perhaps the campaign managers of the two candidates had a chat and decided on what each of the candidates were going to wear, although I sincerely doubt this happened. Trump’s attire is not unpredictable, as this is a solid uniform of many political candidates.
The main reason I believe that Donald Trump wore a royal blue tie, is that he already comes across as dominant because of his height and personality. He can also be seen as aggressive hence red (that can be associated with danger and aggression) can cause a chemical reaction by raising the heart rate. Being seen as overly aggressive with Hillary would have been counter productive and he could be perceived as a bully, which would not be great for winning the much needed female vote.
Wearing blue sends out a message that you are intelligent, trustworthy, loyal and dependable, which in Trump’s case is a message that he wants to get across. I am sure that this tie was picked out a long time ago for this very moment, particularly as he has been branding his opponent as “Crooked Hillary”. He wanted to reinforce this message and then give the subliminal message that he is more trustworthy, so his colour strategy has been well applied.
It is also important to note that blue is most people’s favourite colour. Just like red it has been found to improve cognitive performance but this time to make the wearer more creative. That will certainly benefit Trump who has a more limited political knowledge base than Clinton.
So it is important to choose the colours you wear wisely, based on your message, your audience, how you want to be portrayed and how you want to feel.
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