Missouri senator wants seersucker suits outlawed & other odd fashion bans
By Brittany Anas
Missouri state Sen. Ryan McKenna loathes seersucker suits so much that he recently tried to ban the preppy Southern staple in the Show Me State. (Cue the collective gasp of the Millionaire’s Circle at the Kentucky Derby, Southern fraternity brothers and competitive croquet players everywhere).
That’s right, McKenna, a Democrat, tried to tuck an amendment into a higher education funding bill that would have banned those ages 8 and older from wearing seersucker suits. He was kidding. Sort of. He told reporters the amendment was in jest.
McKenna’s proposed amendment stated: “Any person living in this state aged 8 and under may wear seersucker suits at their leisure. Any person over the age of 8 living in this state may not wear seersucker suits because adults look ridiculous in seersucker suits.”
Turns out, seersucker — a lightweight, springtime cotton fabric — is, well, very much a part of the American political fabric. Members of the Missouri legislature often wear seersucker on Wednesdays. In 1996, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican, initiated “Seersucker Thursday,” a June tradition, to bring some Southern charm to the nation’s capitol.
Are you a sucker for seersucker? Here’s where you can find some pieces made from, perhaps, the most politically divisive fabric.
- Paul Frederick carries seersucker, double-breasted suits in charcoal, blue and melon.
- Nordstrom sells an imported Hugo Boss seersucker suit that looks mighty dapper with a red bow tie.
- Ladies, we didn’t forget you. 6 p.m. has a peach-colored Anne Klein seersucker blazer.
The seersucker smack-down got us thinking about some of the oddest fashion bans around the globe. Here’s what we found:
- A woman in the U.K. was banned from night clubs because she was “too old” to be wearing skimpy night club clothes. She was 28.
- In Louisiana’s Terrebonne Parish, a new ordinance passed in April bans people from wearing sagging, underwear-exposing pants. Violators can get a $50 ticket. This kind of reminds us of that viral song that “General” Larry Platt performed on American Idol in 2010, proclaiming: “Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, lookin’ like a fool with your pants on the ground.”
- Iran has banned the mullet, along with necklaces and shorts for men.
- Catellammare di Stabia, a small Italian town, in 2010 banned women from wearing too skimpy of skirts.
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