Can Boris Johnson do anything other than look like a slob?

[JTG]

you said it was 'obvious'

 

[tangerinedream]

where have I said that it is policy, every office/profession that deals with the public in the flesh has the same discipline.

But tbf to Boris I find it unlikely that he'll deal with appointments at anything other than senior level. His minnions will do that. Someone needs to email the office of the mayor of London and find out if boris has relaxed the dress code for staff. If he's not and indeed if anyone has been in trouble for looking scruffy (though I'm sure that would be harder to find out + would he actually be aware of that?) I can take your point on appearance and hypocrisy.

Secondly, is that 'discipline' actually a good thing? I personally find it bizarre that in the 21st century there remains a firmly entrenched view that I have to wear clothes similar that which I would expect an edwardian to wear to the office.

 

[snadge]

Secondly, is that 'discipline' actually a good thing? I personally find it bizarre that in the 21st century there remains a firmly entrenched view that I have to wear clothes similar that which I would expect an edwardian to wear to the office.

I agree it is not a good thing, far to much emphasise is put on it as well as the one upmanship that comes with it.

I have seen threads on these very boards asking where a good suit could be bought for impression etc.

and as for "being naturally scruffy" there is no such thing, it's a choice.

 

[tangerinedream]

I agree it is not a good thing, far to much emphasise is put on it as well as the one upmanship that comes with it.

I have seen threads on these very boards asking where a good suit could be bought for impression etc.

and as for "being naturally scruffy" there is no such thing, it's a choice.

I dunno, you get clumsy people who after about 10 minutes look as if they've been through a hedge backwards no matter what they do.

 

[snadge]

you said it was 'obvious'

it is obvious when you check out his minions in their designer suits and Boris with his oxfam " budgies died" suit.

 

[snadge]

I dunno, you get clumsy people who after about 10 minutes look as if they've been through a hedge backwards no matter what they do.

like playing football at dinnertime or something.

 

[tangerinedream]

like playing football at dinnertime or something.

Like the biro exploding in yer pocket or dropping your lunch down your front.

 

[snadge]

Like the biro exploding in yer pocket or dropping your lunch down your front.

If you were representing your country in front of billions you would surely change though, Boris doesn't and revels in it.

 

[tangerinedream]

If you were representing your country in front of billions you would surely change though, Boris doesn't and revels in it.

*shrugs*

 

[claphamboy]

Do that fucking jacket up and look professional you stupid twat.

So, basically, people are upset because BoJo didn’t do his jacket up whilst speaking?

Did anyone bother to notice that right next to him on stage was another politician who also didn’t do his jacket up?

That politician being not the leader of London, but the leader of the country.

 

[Mation]

Well I do, if I applied for a position on the staff of the mayor and turned up looking like a scruff like him for the interview I doubt I would get the position would I but it's ok for him to look like a slob, more do as I say not as I do.

That's a daft argument for caring about what he wears. Yes, any hypocrisy of the sort you mention would obviously be A Bad Thing, but surely the correct response is for people to stop worrying about what the fuck other people are wearing. It really doesn't matter.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

maybe the reason he looked a scruff in Beijing was cos he flew economy. Saving the London taxpayer a few squids.

Ken was in Beijing too. Remind me which class the socialist flew

 

[kyser_soze]

It's really simple. Jaques Rogge and the Beijing Mayor both had their fucking buttons done up and managed to keep their hands out of their jacket pockets. Boris didn't, he looked a fucking shambles. Two buttons, that's all it would have taken - what I want to know is who the fuck in his press team allowed him out there like that?

 

[Orang Utan]

Why are two buttons so important? Who gives a fuck? It was hot. If it'd been me, I would have been in crumpled linen and no tie

 

[trevhagl]

sadly image is everything to some people, remember Michael Foot? His policies were ok but cos he looked like he'd been dragged backwards thru Oxfam he lost the election.

Mind you Boris is probably ADMIRED for dressing like that, i think it's a student irony thing.
The bloke is a CUNT mind you, like all Tory politicians

 

[paolo]

The problem with BoJo - for me at least - is that there are just too many things to shrug off. He is a terrible speaker when it comes to important stuff, he looks looks shambolic, his hiring appears to be haphazard, and some policies seem to come out of thin air. I'd rather substance over style, but he seems to be neither. I can't imagine him speaking at a time of crisis. As a journalist, chat show guest, etc, he's good material (arguably more so if you don't like him - so there's something for everyone!), but as a leader he seems to require quite a big leap of faith. Too big a leap for me.

 

[Sunray]

What sort of a person, faced with the eyes of more people than probably at any time in human history wouldn't at least try to look their best?

 

[JHE]

I think everyone agrees that BJ is a bit of a scruff, but he really didn't look too bad in China.

In any case, all these complaints about scruffiness, from Urban75 folk, are funny. It's not as if BJ was wearing combat trousers or a teeshirt with some daft slogan on it.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

The Chinese it seems weren't impressed by Bojo the slob either:

'At such formal occasion, he should have buttoned his jacket,' he said.
'If you dress informally or not properly, it can be seen as disrespect to the host.

One hand in his pocket: A blogger complained Boris Johnson did not take the occasion seriously and should not have put his hand in his pocket

'When he was stepping to the stage and down, he put his hand in the pocket of his jacket.

'This shows he was extremely casual, he did not seem to take this occasion seriously.

 

[Kid_Eternity]

It's really simple. Jaques Rogge and the Beijing Mayor both had their fucking buttons done up and managed to keep their hands out of their jacket pockets. Boris didn't, he looked a fucking shambles. Two buttons, that's all it would have taken - what I want to know is who the fuck in his press team allowed him out there like that?

Nail, head.

 

[Oswaldtwistle]

I must admit I find Boris' shambolic look a refreshing change from slick media operators like Cameron, Blair and Millband.

 

[HarrisonSlade]

When I was in the pub watching it, my work mates were all hiding their faces. Not at Boris, but simply because the whole thing was utterly ridiculous. When Boris was holding the flag, and having difficulty waving it, we all expected him to drop it. He was slightly bumbling, but we found it slightly endeering. The spectacle which came afterwards made me ashamed to be British. The site of Leonna Lewis (some bird who won some game show on ITV) singing "Whole Lotta Love, while Jimmy Page plays guitar was just a tad less painful than the experience of watching David Beckham, who seemed to look slightly uncomfortable, hold up a football, and toss it into the crowd. That was more the fault of Coe and Livingstone than Boris.

 

[kyser_soze]

Leonna Lewis (some bird who won some game show on ITV)

...and most successful female UK artist for at least a decade...do I need to provide the wiki link detailing how well she's sold overseas, including the US?

 

[JTG]

Nobody's mentioned the Chinese bloke had trouble waving the flag as well. It was a big flag.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

The Chinese it seems weren't impressed by Bojo the slob either:

One hand in his pocket: A blogger complained Boris Johnson did not take the occasion seriously and should not have put his hand in his pocket

I'm sure the next time God wants to lay down some commandments he'll do so in his blog. Cos a blog is the word of God

 

[HarrisonSlade]

...and most successful female UK artist for at least a decade...do I need to provide the wiki link detailing how well she's sold overseas, including the US?

Judith Keppell did well out of winning "Millionaire". Not only did she become the future King's wife's cousin. She also got a permanent slot on "Eggheads", even though she's as thick as shit. Why wasn't she part of the ceremony?

 

[London_Calling]

I must admit I find Boris' shambolic look a refreshing change from slick media operators like Cameron, Blair and Millband.

But it's not when it's equally contrived. At least not imo.

 

[Cid]

The Chinese it seems weren't impressed by Bojo the slob either:

I'm not hugely bothered by Boris' appearance when he's doing his domestic duties, but thing about this is that we really need to be focusing on getting everything right with China. They are ridiculously powerful and already pissed off with what they view as patronising, hypocritical talk on human rights (which is all well and good, but with a nation like China you really need to tread carefully when pointing out flaws) so we need to be constantly on the ball with regards to how we appear to them. I'm not saying we need to cozy up to them, just that if we want them to pay attention to what we say we have to show them some respect (and be willing to acknowledge our own flaws/past, but that's another thread). Boris' bumbling good humour is exactly the opposite of what we should be presenting in international diplomacy. He may make some mildly amusing speeches, and his image may work over here (not for me) but as soon as we need to go beyond the cynical world of London he should be hidden away.

 

[Firky]

Eh? What difference does it make what he looks like. I don't like the bloke but telling him to button up his jacket and take his hands out of his pockets make some of you sound like a demon head master.

"YOU BOY! That is not a Windsor knot, tuck your shirt in and take your hands out of your pockets."

Fucking snobbery if you ask me. If he wasn't a toff or a Tory but some ultra left, wing crusty with dreads and combats you'd be fucking loving it

 

[Firky]

Absolutely. Beat on the bloke for having shit politics and rubbish ideas but ffs, his personal appearance shouldn't come into it.

I have always been, and always will be, a scruff. I accept there are many people who will judge me for it but the very fact that they do invalidates their opinion.

I find it odd that on a website that sell t-shirts proclaiming the users 'baby eating anarchists' (however ironically) there are people getting wound up because a politician hasn't pressed his trousers properly. I dislike Boris more than the next man, but I really couldn't give a fuck what he wears, how he brushes his hair or whether his jacket is done up. I would have thought this was the last place to be giving a hammering about 'not looking smart enough' but seems yet again the users of urban 75 are more old fashioned in their viewpoint than Col. Bringbackthebirchbackinmydayweusedspitandpolish who writes regularly to the Telegraph about such issues*.

'Sir - I was appalled to see our so called Mayor of London looking a bit of a dilitary fellow.. I did not fight the war so people could look a bit scruffy etc...'​

Some people ain't that smart. It doesn't matter. End of. Who gives a fuck. Srsly?

*there is an element of provocation there:D

What a weird thread! Surely the only good thing he is doing and is likely to do as mayor is to show that it doesn't matter what you wear!

Who gives a fuck if he looks a bit scruffy?

Yay! SOme sense at last.

The boards and the website are not the same. You are 'provocatively' conflating them. And I think the t-shirts are rarely actually for sale, with no sub-text about the desirability of properly pressed trousers.

Way to miss a point.

"*there is an element of provocation there: "