Gifts with a Presidents Day twist: Commander in Chic

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John F. Kennedy is unquestionably the leading presidential trend-setter (no roll call vote required here). His effortless, high-class look had a fresh Hyannis Port nautical bent. JFK was often seen sporting Sperry Top-Siders on his sailboat, taking them to an iconic place in fashion history. (Men’s Authentic Original Suede Boat Shoe, shown, $85, and women’s Naples mocs, $98 at sperrytopsider.com).

And when it came to White House attire, Kennedy quickly vetoed the shapeless three-button men’s “sack suit” of the moment, with its unfitted jacket and wide-leg trouser, and popularized a streamlined two-button suit instead — further elevated by trim ties, custom-made Charvet shirts from Paris, and, of course, the strikingly elegant First Lady on his arm.

Inspired by Norman Mailer’s 1960 article on JFK for Esquire magazine, “Superman Comes to the Supermarket,” local fashion line Gentry’s spring collection “embodies an Americana fantasy,” says designer Annie Imamura. The Kennedy tie set, top, handcrafted here in Los Angeles, pulls a posh look together fast. The wooden boxed set contains a print cotton necktie and pocket square, plus a silver-coated bronze collar clip, tie bar and tie pin. Last but not least, it includes a tie guide titled “The Handbook of Class and Distinction for the Modern Day Gentleman.” ($245 at House on Genesee: call 323-845-9821).

-- Ingrid Schmidt

Saturday: Political Poker Faces