page_title: Willie Brown (politician)
section_title: Aesthetic style
hierarchical_section_title: Willie Brown (politician) / Personal life / Aesthetic style
caption_attribution_description: English: Willie L. Brown, Jr. was San Francisco Mayor 1996-2004. Here he is at an event in the rotunda of San Francisco city hall(Students from the Bessie Carmichael Elementary School celebrate 2nd annual Wrap the Bay) Photograph by Nancy Wong, 1999
context_page_description: Willie Lewis Brown Jr. is an American politician of the Democratic Party. Brown served over 30 years in the California State Assembly, spending 15 years as its speaker. He later became mayor of San Francisco, and was the first African American to hold that office. The San Francisco Chronicle called Brown "one of San Francisco's most notable mayors", adding that he had "celebrity beyond the city's boundaries."
  Born in Mineola, Texas, Brown graduated from San Francisco State University in 1955 and earned a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1958. He spent several years in private practice before being elected to the California Assembly in 1964 in his second attempt. Brown became the Democrats' whip in 1969, and then became speaker in 1980. He was known for his ability to manage colleagues and maintain party discipline. According to The New York Times, Brown became one of the country's most powerful state legislators. His long tenure and powerful position were used as a focal point of the California ballot proposition to limit the terms of state legislators, which passed in 1990.
context_section_description: Brown has demonstrated a sense of flair in his personal style from early on, which contributed to a visibility he later parlayed into political advantage. Even in high school he was fastidious about his appearance. In office he became famous for British and Italian suits, sports cars, nightclubbing, and a collection of dressy hats. He was once called "The Best Dressed Man in San Francisco" by Esquire magazine.
  In his 2008 autobiography, Basic Brown, he described his taste for US$6,000 Brioni suits and his search for the perfect chocolate Corvette to add to his car collection. In one chapter, titled "The Power of Clothes: Don't Pull a Dukakis", Brown explains that men should acquire a navy blazer for each season: one with "a hint of green" for springtime, another with more autumnal threading for the fall. He further remarks, "You really shouldn't try to get through a public day wearing just one thing. ... Sometimes, I change clothes four times a day."
caption: Mayor Willie Brown at an event in the San Francisco City Hall rotunda in the 1990s.
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