Ex-minister S Iswaran appeared in public, possibly for the last time before he is imprisoned, wearing a short-sleeved shirt with a recognisable silhouette

This afternoon, when he appeared outside the State Courts to begin his 12-month jail term, Subramaniam Iswaran, sporting a white tilak (marking) on his glabella (between the brows), looked very composed. He emerged on the right side of the vehicle that he arrived in, causing the journalists and cameramen waiting kerb side to rush towards him to get a word out of the man. Mr Iswaran did not answer, but when he felt that the reporters were in his way, he said calmly, “excuse me, please. Thank you.” The press people were persistent, but Mr Iswaran remained quiet, until he noticed that the lot in front of him might be unaware of the stairway behind them, said, “Watch your steps.” He paused for them to clear, put his right hand out (as if to maintain a distance between him and the human obstacles), and said, “please be careful.” And then, swiftly, he was in the court building.

Mr Iswaran made his appearance in court finally without a suit: In a dark (indigo?), short-sleeved short with indistinct micro repeated patterns. He wore his shirt untucked, over similarly-hued trousers. His slim-cut shirt bore a striking similarity in silhouette to what Ong Beng Seng wore, also to the State Courts, just three days ago. Mr Ong’s Thom Browne shirt was derided by Netizens as “janitor’s uniform”—gleefully reported by AsiaOne. It isn’t clear why Mr Ong’s shirt was thought to communicate janitorial garb. At his age, what he wore was not controversial or especially drab. It was a shirt shape that he would be familiar, if we were to understand what was considered to be fashionable to him when he was younger. It would be strange if he were to wear an oversized Balenciaga shirt. Or one with a pussy bow by Gucci. Or attempt a Daniel Craig fashion transformation.

Similarly, that Mr Iswaran would pick a shirt men of his generation usual do, often without thinking, was hardly an eyebrow raiser. The unidentifiable shirt was similar in shape, including how it was worn (untucked), as Mr Ong’s Thom Browne. As he was able to fill the shirt, the garment looked different from how Mr Ong, far slimmer (and older), appeared in his. But upon closer examination, both bodices and the sleeve forms and lengths of the shirts were almost identical. They resembled those shirts one might (still) find at A|X Armani Exchange. In any case, both men were going to court to meet their fate; they were not off to a party to enjoy themselves. The criticism of Mr Ong’s attire smacks of ageism. But was he not dressed like men of a certain age or was he not, as some think, attired to reflect the prestige of a certain social class?

Screen shot: cna/YouTube