President Obama's choice of a tan suit creates stir in Washington

The subjects were serious enough at US President Barack Obama's impromptu press conference, but many viewers and the press corps seized on something more immediately visible, his tan suit. The president's decision to address the media in a summer suit became a focus for many even as he addressed Russian responsibility for rebel actions in Ukraine and US air strikes against Islamists in Iraq. "Yes we tan!" became the mocking rally cry on social media as Obama gave a statement and then took questions from what some have deemed a horrified press corps. In 2012, Obama told Vanity Fair that: "I wear only grey or blue suits." By breaking that promise, - even with what many acknowledge was a sharp-looking, seasonal get-up - Obama inadvertently gave birth to #suitgate. The snide comments from America's aspiring fashion critics exploded on Twitter. "I'm sorry but you can't declare war in a suit like that," wrote Wall Street Journal reporter Damian Paletta. "The Audacity of Taupe," tweeted Jared Keller, a programming director at start-up MicNews, in a reference to Obama's book The Audacity of Hope. Not everyone was amused. Someone immediately started the parody handle Obamasuit, but Twitter quickly suspended the account. Photo: Reuters