Shortly after being sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama faced his first major crisis: being criticized for not wearing a suit coat in one of his first “working” Oval Office photos.

Since the criticizer was Andrew Card, George W. Bush’s former chief of staff, I’ll take his indignation with a grain of salt. Mr. Card was actually pretty harsh in his commentary on President Obama’s shirtsleeves picture; more or less accusing him disrespecting the formality and very sanctity of the office.

Much has been made about former President Bush’s strict suit and tie rule while in the Oval. Mr. Card made it clear that under President Bush’s tenure no deviation was allowed because the level of deference due to the Oval Office’s stature demanded it.

As these things have a way of playing out, within hours of Card’s rebuke at least one Oval Office photo of then-President Bush, in shirtsleeves, made its debut in cyberspace. More importantly, other photos of jacket-less presidents began popping up: Ford, Reagan, Carter and Clinton to name a few. Were they showing disrespect to the office, and by extension the Office, too?

Of course not and neither is President Obama. I won’t go so far as to say this is a manufactured controversy; rather, I think there are a few folks out there who fear a “casualization” of the presidency. Perhaps they see Mr. Obama as too laid back, too informal and his not wearing a suit coat in the Oval confirms their worst fear. Too much “change.”

Oh please. Was he wearing dirty jeans and an old Harvard sweatshirt covered in chili dog stains? No. He was attired in the de rigueur uniform of heads of state across the planet. There is no story here. Well, almost no story.

Living and working in Washington for as long as I have has taught me that when it comes to messaging, the White House – any president’s White House – is deliberate. That picture above, sure to become an iconic portrait of President Obama, was deliberately chosen to convey two messages. (1) The new president is hard at work, and (2) he is not George Bush.

President Bush, though always properly attired, even natty at times, never seemed very comfortable in business dress to me. Back on the ranch in Crawford, wearing a tee shirt, jeans, ropers and Stetson, the then-president seemed far more natural and himself.

Yet in the confines of the formal presidency – the president the world sees on TV and out doing his job – Bush was doggedly appropriately attired. I remember once speaking with one of Mr. Bush’s Washington, D.C., tailors and he showed a bolt of beautiful Harris tweed destined to become an odd jacket for the president. I loved it, though at the time I could not quite imagine his wearing it. Regardless, he always looked appropriate even if he seemed to chafe a bit in his suit.

So yes, Mr. Bush was a well dressed president who cared about how the office is presented and perceived – part of the reason for his “suits only” Oval Office rule. But his is not the only appropriate model of White house dress. Leaving aside President Clinton’s reputation for wearing sweats while working at the Resolute Desk, all presidents put their stamp of personal style on the office.

President Obama is by any measure already a fashion icon, having appeared on just about every fashion magazine cover before even taking the oath of office. Though not outrageous or trendy the new president has already put a clearly modern and fresh stamp on presidential style.

His tie-less look on the campaign trail was so thoroughly analyzed and envied that it wound up as a story in the Wall Street Journal. Where most politicians or businessmen would look to have forgotten their ties, Mr. Obama appeared sharp, stylish, and professional.

One of the reasons his no tie look is so distinctive and polished is that often he was wearing separates – the suit coat and trousers were of slightly varying hues. This trick breaks up the visual “oneness” that a suit presents so when a tie is removed from the equation, the overall look does not appear incomplete to the observer. Also, when going sans-tie, Mr. Obama chose to wear shirts with shorter collar points and a higher button stance, so that the look was both natural and proportional to the overall outfit.

As president, Mr. Obama has already established his public face and it is farmiliar: dark blue or gray suit, white shirt and appropriate ties. His off duty wardrobe, or at least off podium wardrobe, remains approachable and familiar to most men, with the exception of all those new jackets sporting the presidential seal. He called his Air Force One windbreaker “spiffy.”

So, back to “shirt sleeves-gate”; I think that the nation, and the world, can rest easy knowing that the president has not abandoned all sense of propriety and decorum. He just took off his jacket, kept his tie on, and went to work.

The other day, a reader sent along a link for my review. It was to an article from Slate Magazine analyzing President Obama’s sartorial choice for his evening of inaugural balls.

As you may have noticed, the president chose to strike out in a new direction – somewhere in between black tie and white tie.

The Slate article was rather critical of the new Commander in Chief, noting that in the past Mr. Obama has demonstrated a masterful understanding of formal dress. In this case however, the review of his choice in tuxedos was unflattering. The president was being dressed down, as it were.

While I normally prefer that men stick to the classics when classic dress is called for, as with black or white tie affairs, in this case I liked what I saw.

When the president and first lady made their initial showing at the Neighborhood Ball, all eyes were on the First Lady, but I immediately noticed something odd: the president was wearing a white pique shirt and tie with a dinner jacket.

Normally, these items are reserved for formal white tie and tails. By pairing them with a dinner jacket, obviously a deliberate choice as it was all custom tailored, he was making a clear sartorial point. Additionally, he went with a turn-down collar instead of a wing collar, also traditionally associated with white tie.

After getting over the initial incongruity, I actually warmed to the look – partly because it was neither forced nor showy. I never got the feeling that I was watching some of-the-moment mid range celebrity attempting to be edgy or hip. Quite the opposite really, he was absolutely cool and elegant.

My only nitpick, and here I agree with Slate, would be the choice of a notched lapel. It’s never appropriate on a dinner jacket for the simple reason that it visually references a business suit. And in doing so, the formality of the outfit is reduced. Even though you know it’s a dinner jacket, the overall silhouette is less appealing.

A classic peaked lapel would have been a better choice in my opinion. Now, there is the chance that the president was trying to streamline and modernize his tuxedo, hence the hybrid shirt and tie. By choosing notched lapel, perhaps he was seeking to make it less formal, less “old fashioned.” If that was his intention than I suppose at some level he probably succeeded; it was different and it was fresh. But the basic DNA of a tuxedo is in itself timeless and a peaked lapel would have been the classiest finishing touch.

The Obama campaign theme always revolved around change and it seems that this holds true on all fronts. Did the president commit a sartorial faux pas by striking out on his own in the land of the classic tux? After all, in this town every politician, lobbyist and pundit owns at least two. Or is this a case of outside-the-beltway naiveté? It was neither.

I think the president gave us an elegant, unique and a clever twist on the traditional. It was a statement, yes; but not a hollow one. The president was not thumbing his nose at anyone and he was not vainly attempting to “update” black tie.

He was telling us that he has his own style; refined and modern yet clearly grounded in an appreciation of traditional menswear. As far as I’m concerned, the critics should lighten up and appreciate this fresh and thoughtful interpretation on a classic.