Mayor Bloomberg’s Fashion Shame

Bloomberg at the CFDA awards.Photo: FilmMagic

Is Mayor Bloomberg just feigning a lack of style acumen? Last night, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honored him for contributions to the fashion industry, like fighting counterfeiters and shepherding New York Fashion Week through its departure from Bryant Park. And ever since the award was announced, he’s claimed an aw-shucks ignorance about fashion. How would he describe his own style sense? “My style? Hanging on for dear life!” he said last night, laughing nervously. “The other half is the person they should be writing about fashion,” he said, squeezing his date, Diana Taylor’s arm. Taylor beamed brightly and squeezed his arm back. “I think you have great style.” We pointed out how nicely the mayor’s purple bow tie matched Taylor’s deep-purple Ralph Lauren dress. Had they matched on purpose?

Ralph Lauren butted in. “I picked out the dress,” he said. “I didn’t pick out the bow tie. That was all his idea.” Aha! Taylor admitted it. “Surprised me, too,” she said. “He came down the stairs, and I started laughing. I said, ‘I can’t believe you’re actually going to wear purple.’” Guess Bloomberg is edgier than we thought. But why was he keeping his passion for fashion under wraps?, we wondered, when later in the evening, when we heard him joking to the Times’ City Room blog. “My skinny jeans are at the cleaners and my gladiator sandals are being resoled,” he said. Gladiator sandals? Wait! That’s it! He’s still mourning the loss of his Sex and the City role! But he shouldn’t be sad. At least among mature men, he’s still a fashion star. “He has incredible style and great taste,” Ralph Lauren told us firmly. Case closed. —Jada Yuan