Cool Britannia arrives in America

When Tony Blair was elected Prime Minister in Britain after years of Thatcherism it was as though a pall had lifted from the U.K. All of a sudden, Britain was cool. Cool Britannia ruled.

With Tuesday's election of the ultra-cool Barack Obama, 'cool' has crossed the Atlantic. The U.S. is about to become very cool. More cool than it has been since JFK and Jackie were doing the twist on the 2nd floor of the White House. Fundamental Christianity, hawkishness and old white guys are so yesterday.

My predictions on the new cool:


1. Casual fridays are finally over. Men, even young men (under 30) will don suits with crisp shirts (white) and ties. The bar has been raised even for casual attire. When walking the kids to a Halloween party or speaking at an outdoor rally in the rain, Barack's has a classic casual uniform, black pants, a white shirt (open collar) and a black windbreaker. That's as casual as he gets. Cargo pants or worse, shorts, XL t-shirts and baseball caps are not clothes for grown men. RIP.

2. The waist is back: For women and men. The days of the baggy-ass pants are coming to an end, and not a moment too soon. It would be nice to see some young, shapely butts again. Lord knows, we women have had to squeeze our hips into ever smaller versions of everything during this miserable era. The thwarting of female power continues unabated ... that's a topic for another time.

For women, dresses are in. Michelle likes them and she looks pretty Jackie O. And they're pretty comfortable, versatile and, like the man suit, can hide lots of flaws. Plus you just have to throw one thing on instead of three (pants/skirt, jacket, shirt) Hilary's pantsuit can take a rest.

3. Public service is in. (O.K. the Wall Street Journal predicted it, but it is a nice shift from financial services)

4. Chili. Barack whips up chili for the family. cute.

5. Cool is not about age. Stephen Harper is about the same age as Barack and look what an old fart he is!


Amidst the financial crisis, the mortgage fiasco, young men and women being killed or maimed in Iraq and Afghanistan, at least the misery can be balanced with a little cool.