Look into their ties

There has been little dissent in Boston: Blue is the consensus color for neckties, the new power hue. From Bill Clinton commanding the podium Monday night wearing a swath of shimmering aquamarine around his neck to Patrick Buchanan sniping on the sidelines Tuesday in a patterned sapphire tie, shades of blue have been the most visible choice, across the political spectrum. On the campaign trail, candidates frequently go tieless, but blue-tinted formality has reigned at the convention this week.

The red power tie has had its day, and regularly returns. But red has always been a Donald Trump favorite, and who'd want to look like him? Early in his presidency, George W. Bush swerved from the red column to the blue. He wore a blue tie to deliver his inaugural address, and for every major speech since, except when he declared war with Iraq. On that occasion, he chose red.

"Blue is now the color of confidence and dependability," says Laurie Nenortas, a trial consultant with Courtroom Sciences Inc., a litigation research and consulting firm based in Dallas. "Since it's the opposite of screaming red, blue gives the appearance that the person speaking knows what they're talking about."

In a book about his career as a successful trial lawyer, co-written by John Auchard, vice presidential nominee John Edwards revealed that he always wore blue ties when appearing before a jury, because he learned that women found the color friendly and attractive. He was wearing a royal blue tie when he arrived at Logan Airport on Tuesday night and still had it on when his mike check was televised late in the evening.

Gayle Hearde, a CSI consultant with a doctorate in human communication, says, "Blue sends a nonverbal message of confidence and coolness under fire. Deeper tones of blue are more powerful. A pale shade can convey wimpy and washed-out."

Bill Clinton's blue eyes overcame any intimations of wimpiness that his choice of neckwear might have suggested. "Think of the color of his eyes," Nenortas says. "If a tie reflects the color of his eyes, that would make it work." Clinton wears a cerulean blue tie in his official presidential portrait, unveiled last month.

In his new role as bestselling author, Clinton has crisscrossed the country and traveled to England on a book tour, so it isn't surprising that the tie he wore in Boston was purchased at an airport tie store. Despite its mundane origins, its color spoke of vacations on a romantic island, of balmy Miami evenings.