Remembering Jinnah: A Man of Style

Jinnah was not only an astute lawyer and politician but a man who knew what he wanted to wear, and how he wanted to wear it. It is said his dress sense was so spot on that he gave the British a run for their money!

His monocle, his double-breasted jackets and his Craven “A” cigarettes render him a man of inimitable style and panache. It is stated he had 200 suits from London’s famed Saville Row. With his fedora and overcoat, one can easily mistake him for a 50s Hollywood actor.

In fact, he was offered work with a theater company in London when he was a student there in 1893. Surprisingly, his eastern taste in clothes was also right up to the mark. Jinnah dressed to make a social and political statement; he was someone who was proud of his past and yet embraced his modern identity.

A case in point is a rare picture provided by Mobeen Ansari in which Jinnah is sitting gracefully against a white background, cross- legged in his two-toned Oxfords and a sherwani. The picture emanates style, confidence, determination and a presence that is unfathomable.

It is never about the clothes, but about the person wearing them. As Yves Saint Laurent aptly put it: ‘Fashion fades but style is eternal’. Whatever you wear, wear it with confidence and grace: it is not about standing out but being remembered.