Barack Obama Rolled MexiCali Style In His Inaguration Bullet-Resistant Suit

Sure, all the fashion press about yesterday’s inauguration and ball is going to Michelle Obama, but we found a great tidbit about Barack Obama’s suit. It was “Bullet-Resistant,” just like the monied people of Mexico we told you about a few months back. While we don’t know if Obama’s suit was made by Colombian “Bullet-Resistant” suit manufacturer Miguel Caballero, we’re pretty sure he rocked the highest standard allowed.

Type IIA armor, for example, should protect against a 9 mm-caliber, full-metal-jacketed, round-nose bullet traveling at 373 meters per second. Type IIIA (the highest standard for a flexible, as opposed to a hard, material) protects against a 357 SIG flat-nose bullet fired at a velocity of 448 meters per second.

One of the more common fabrics used in bullet-resistant vests is Kevlar, a lightweight, synthetic fiber that’s about five times stronger than a piece of steel of the same weight. Manufacturers use very dense strands of Kevlar—500 to 1,500 filaments per strand of yarn—and weave it into a netting. Then they cover the weave with a plastic film.

We guess the President was lucky it was ass-cold in D.C. yesterday, because that sounds like it’s really hot to wear. If we were assassins following a target, we’d just wait until they started getting too sweaty and decide to take of their bullet-resistant jacket. Safety over comfort is the new fashion over comfort for this new world.
Does the Kevlar Number Come in a French Cuff? [Slate]
Image [New York Times]