style mavens

What Do You Mean Joe Solmonese Doesn’t Deserve a Fashion Award?

Human Rights Campaign executive director Joe Solmonese was named to the 35-member 2010 Fashion Awards list by Washington Life magazine, a publication devoted to making the nation’s capital look sexy, even when it’s stuffed with lobbyists, lawyers, and lawmakers, known throughout the land to be ugly and frumpy. The nod to Solmonese’s style puts him in the company of Count Renault de Viel Castel, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussei, and Joe’s BBF Barack Obama. Some queer bloggers are incensed and astonished that Solmonese, the still-employed irrelevant and ineffective Gay Inc. leader, could be celebrated for “favor[ing] designers Ann Demeulemeester, Billy Reid, and Dolce and Gabbana” while failing so brutally at his actual job. But that would be discourteous, because Solmonese is, actually, a snappy dresser.

In his years leading HRC, Joe is anything but a style disaster. Whether the event is a formal black-tie gala or a jeans a t-shirt appropriate event, Joe knows what to wear. So while he may not be doing much to get DADT repealed or ENDA passed, he is making the world a better dressed place.

OUTFIT: Casual spring suit, blue button down
LOCATION: HRC Federal Club Mixer, July 2009
ON THE PLUS SIDE: Just look at that monogrammed designer belt (Hermes?)
AND YET: It emphasizes Joe’s lack of broad shoulders

[photo]

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OUTFIT: White “Repeal DADT Now” tee
LOCATION: HRC’s Kathy Griffin/Bravo rally in D.C. on March 18
ON THE PLUS SIDE: It shows Joe can go casual even when onlookers and cameras abound
AND YET: It shows his pooch. Like, a lot

OUTFIT: Black tie tuxedo
LOCATION: HRC’s annual “Time to Shine” gala, Nov. 7, 2009, with Feast Of Fun‘s Fausto Fernós
ON THE PLUS SIDE: Every man looks good in a tuxedo
AND YET: Nobody looks as good as Fausto Fernós when standing next to him

[photo]

OUTFIT: Standard Spandex bicycle race uniform
LOCATION: On the route at the AIDS Life Cycle event, 2008
ON THE PLUS SIDE: Sweat and Lycra are quite a turn on
AND YET: There’s something unnerving about being so close to Joe’s reproductive organs

[photo]

OUTFIT: T-shirt and jeans
LOCATION: The Democratic National Convention, 2008
ON THE PLUS SIDE: The outfit shows Joe is an everyman
AND YET: But in front of a step-and-repeat, he looks out of place

[photo]

OUTFIT: Power pinstripe suit
LOCATION: Event to celebrate the passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, October 2008
ON THE PLUS SIDE: Joe is at his best in pinstripes, beaming with self-confidence
AND YET: Former HRC executive director Elizabeth Birch manages to outshine her successor with a black suit of her own

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OUTFIT: Casual black crew neck sweater
LOCATION: GLAAD panel at Sundance, Jan. 24, 2010
ON THE PLUS SIDE: He fits the business casual mood of the event
AND YET: Seated too far away to catch the red backdrop behind him, he blends into the ether, sort of like his lobbying

[photo: Getty]

OUTFIT: Black suit, blue button down
LOCATION: Sen. Harry Reid’s June 2009 presser about the Matthew Shepard Act
ON THE PLUS SIDE: Joe appears as the most patriotic man on the stage, blending with the American flags behind him
AND YET: Leadership Conference on Civil Rights chief Wade Henderson’s bold tie choice outperforms

[photo: Getty]

OUTFIT: Solid black button down
LOCATION: Eating with young people at a 4-H feast, August 2006
ON THE PLUS SIDE: That red sauce won’t be terribly visible on him should he spill
AND YET: He finished his plate? Portion control!

[photo]

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