Gov. Quinn carts purple and navy tie around state

Paul Simon had his bow tie. Rod Blagojevich had an abundance of perfectly molded hair. Though no fashion maven, Gov. Pat Quinn may go down in Illinois political history for his own signature look. He has been sporting a purple and navy, diagonally striped rep tie week in and week out for half a decade.

Daily Herald and Associated Press photo archives show Quinn wearing one as early as October 2004 - headlining a St. Charles rally for Kane County Democrats.

Oh, the places it goes. Election rallies. Gubernatorial indictments. Budget crises. You name it.

So, Pat, just what's up with that tie?

A spokeswoman from the governor's press office said there's a simple story behind it. Or rather, them.

Quinn, she said, bought the tie at a New York City shop. He liked it so much that he went back the next day and bought a second.

If you look closely, one appears to have slightly thinner stripes. But both are navy and purple and worn constantly.

There's also another close cousin in a slightly more bluish hue.

Since becoming governor, Quinn has worn the ties, on average, two to three times apiece each month. In April, May, June and July, he's worn them in the same week.

He took one to Champaign to sign the $31 billion construction plan, and then another to Chicago two days later to a news conference about the state's new budget.

Just last Thursday, he sported one to greet President Obama at O'Hare International Airport.

Are they lucky? Symbolic? The product of an exhausting schedule or favorite color combo?

The governor has refused repeated requests to elaborate.

Fashion consultants speculate that the governor has little time on his hands these days to think about his wardrobe, let alone expand it.

And few are paying attention.

Unlike on the national level, where politicians' wardrobes are regularly critiqued, "in state and local politics it's very difficult to convince anybody that this stuff matters," Chicago image consultant Tom Kolovos said.

Quinn, who's spent recent weeks embroiled in budget battles, "may not even know he's wearing a tie some days," he said.

Along with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Kolovos described Quinn as having a "machine politician" look.

"It's like these guys go to an online tie store, all click on the same style, and then go and buy 10 of them," he said.

He gets away with it because he's a guy.

"If this were a woman and she was wearing the same jewelry for months on end, people would start talking about it," he said.

California-based image consultant Joseph Rosenfeld, a 1987 graduate of Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, conceded that his home state has been dragged through the mud, with malfeasance a long-standing feature of Illinois politics.

"But just because that has been the condition of state politics, it doesn't mean the current head of state needs to look that way," he said.

His advice?

"Get a few ties. Show some optimism. The state needs to see that there is a future here. That we're moving forward. And there are ways to communicate that message, even if it is by changing the tie, wearing a few fresh things," he said.

"It doesn't mean you've spent your inheritance or robbed a bank. You can shop on a budget."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=310510">Tie tracks<span class="date"> [7/31/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>