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Rocking low-maintenance fashion, Jokowi style
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All set -- President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (right) is set to board the Indonesia-1 presidential airplane for a two-day visit in Central Java on Jan. 8. The President will celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad in Pekalongan. (Courtesy of the Presidential Office/Laily Rachev)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the internet darling that he is, always steals the spotlight when it comes to his outfits, no matter how low maintenance he claims his style to be. Here are the low-maintenance trends popularized by the President through buzz among social media users.
Sarong and suit jacket combo
During his visit to Pekalongan, Central Java, on Monday, Jokowi was spotted dressed in a brown sarong combined with a suit jacket and white shirt. To complete the wardrobe, the President donned a peci (traditional Indonesian Muslim head wear) and selop (traditional slippers), as reported by kompas.com.
The sarong created a reaction in the Twitterverse, as it's known to modern-day Indonesians as something worn casually. However, in years past the sarong, suit jacket and peci combo was worn to formal events. Previously, Jokowi wore a sarong in a relaxed manner in a low-key New Year’s Eve celebration at the Bogor Palace. On his official Twitter account, the President wore a plain shirt paired with a checkered sarong.
00.00 Tahun 2017 di rumah saja
SELAMAT TAHUN BARU -Jkw pic.twitter.com/sk3H5LOX92
— Joko Widodo (@jokowi) December 31, 2016
Both formal and relaxed styles donned by the President have gained various reactions from netizens, with many praising Jokowi for being so inspiring style-wise and demanding the name of the brand of sarong, using the hashtag #sarungjokowi.
Pak @jokowi itu sarungnya mereknya apa ya..?#sarungjokowi pic.twitter.com/A3nWkcw2Bx
— Moh Abdul Latif (@MohAbdulLatif1) December 12, 2016
Beli dimana tuh? Cap 🐘ato Mangga✌🏼? #SarungJokowi https://t.co/bDgXkXfNRu
— Bukan #SaksiPalsu (@ahokdijegal) January 8, 2017
Some netizens also copied the sarong style while using the same hashtag.
Pak @jokowi sarung kita sama, nasib kita berbeda hehe #SarungJokowi #sarung #tahunbaru2017 pic.twitter.com/Q8hvxGrqzS
— zahrul azhar hans (@azhar_han5) January 1, 2017
#sarungjokowi pic.twitter.com/2GWOI24Kid
— Sesuluk (@sesuluk) January 8, 2017
Bomber Jacket
Jokowi’s outfit distracted netizens when he appeared in a green bomber jacket during a press conference following a rally in Jakarta in November last year. Speculation about whether it was a Zara or a Pull & Bear jacket went on for hours.
Amid the internet users’ curiosity over the jacket’s brand, Jokowi’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep joined the crowd by suggesting they visit the food business owned by his brother, Gibran Rakabuming, if they wanted to know where Jokowi bought the jacket.
Yg pengen tau jaketnya beli dmn, silahkan mampir @markobar1996 @MOMMILK_SOLO @CeKopi @Pastabuntel @CakarDheer @Chilli_Pari dulu
— Kaesang Pangarep (@kaesangp) November 5, 2016
After more observations, Twitter user @prawirowijaya later posted the answer: “You all can thank me later. Problem solved!”
Bomber jaket Pak @jokowi ZARA, bukan Pull & Bear. You all can thank me later, polemik selesai! 😂 #jakartaharusdamai pic.twitter.com/DrAtnrgxUN
— Prawiro Wijaya (@prawirowijaya) November 4, 2016
Worn by Jokowi, the bomber jacket created its own phenomena on social media, especially on Instagram. Using hashtags #jaketjokowi and #jaketbomber, many of users offered pre-orders for those who wanted to dress like Mr. President.
Mau beli jaket kayak Pak Jokowi!
— Lidia Rani (@Liiids) November 4, 2016
Oke. Mari selesaikan dengan polling: apa merk jaket pake jokowi?
— Alexander Thian (@aMrazing) November 4, 2016
Following the social media conversation, Jokowi did not stop wearing the jacket and continued to wear it to his other activities.
NTT tidak perlu khawatir lagi mengenai kekurangan listrik. Kapal listrik berdaya 60 MW bisa menyuplai listrik utk 230.000 rumah tangga -Jkw pic.twitter.com/zK5y38yXN2
— Joko Widodo (@jokowi) December 28, 2016
Megamall di kota Manado, banyak baju dan topi yg keren -Jkw pic.twitter.com/CbMqYgWdJY
— Joko Widodo (@jokowi) December 26, 2016
Kita semua berharap Timnas Indonesia menjadi juara AFF 2016. Disiapkan bonus Rp 12 miliar untuk seluruh pemain. Ayo semangat! –Jkw pic.twitter.com/usDHHqUOqP
— Joko Widodo (@jokowi) December 17, 2016
(Read also: Puteri Indonesia to wear Garuda costume at Miss Universe pageant)
White Shirt
A plain white shirt seems to have been Jokowi’s favorite apparel since he was the governor of Surakarta and later of Jakarta and in the State Palace it is now known as the dress code for his Cabinet. While on other occasions he complied with requirements to wear batik or suits, he sticks with the simple white shirt and black trousers on a daily basis.
During the 2014 presidential election campaign, Jokowi ditched the white-black attire and returned to wearing his renowned red-and-blue plaid shirt, an outfit that he donned during his Jakarta gubernatorial rally, while his running-mate Jusuf Kalla (JK) wore a plain white shirt. “This is what we will wear until July 9. We will wear different shirts to symbolize how we complement each other,” said Jokowi at that time. “Pak JK is an experienced politician, while I’m younger than him.”
Jokowi admitted that at first he decided to use plain white shirts as the pair’s campaign dress code. “But the other camp was wearing the same color, so we had second thoughts about wearing them,” he added, referring to his opponents Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa who were known to wear white shirts and khaki pants as their signature colors during the presidential campaign.
Jokowi continued wearing white shirts from the time of his inauguration on Oct. 20, 2014 to the announcement of his Cabinet lineup. At the time, Jokowi and his deputies wore long-sleeved white shirts, which symbolized the wearers’ duty to touch people's lives with their work. According to kompas.com, the white shirts had replaced the safari suit that was popular when Soeharto and after him Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono were the presidents.
In social media, many netizens have ordered shirts that looked like Jokowi’s using the hashtag #kemejajokowi. Moreover, the high demand for Jokowi’s white shirt could be seen in Pasar Tanah Abang and Pasar Senen, although the plain ones were not as popular as the plaid shirts.
A photo posted by Unique Ad Surakarta (@uniquesolo7) on
Checkered Shirt
Both Jokowi and his running mate, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, donned red-and-blue plaid shirts with rolled-up sleeves during their days as candidates for Jakarta’s gubernatorial election in 2012.
As quoted by kompas.com, Jokowi explained why he always rolled up his sleeves. He said it was because he wanted to show that leaders must be ready to work. Meanwhile, Ahok added that Jakarta needed leaders who knew their people’s situation personally, not by just sitting down behind a desk.
Many netizens have followed the trend by wearing plaid shirts.
Online sellers seized the opportunity and offered pre-orders for plaid shirts similar to the candidates'.
A photo posted by Deep Goods Surabaya (@deepgoods) on
Indonesian social media users have reacted to all of Jokowi's outfits, which brings the next big question: What will our fashion icon popularize next? (asw)
