Michael Preston Green and Mitch Menlove

Michael Preston Green and Mitch Menlove
Michael Preston Green, a dapper lawyer/lobbyist with Fennemore Craig, actually picked up two first places, but more about that later.
Mr. Green, who was vacationing in Panama, tells why he thinks he won: “Perhaps I’m the only one at the Capitol who consistently wears a suit.”
Suits are his preferred attire Monday through Thursday, but on Friday he dons, among other garments, a sports coat and cowboy boots. He buys Brooks Brothers and Burberry suits in the price range of $850 to $1,000, usually shopping in San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Boston.
Occasionally Mr. Green opts for Hart, Schaffner & Marks suits, which he buys at Nordstrom’s. But no three-piece suits, ruling out vests. He buys his ties wherever he happens to see one he likes, normally for about $50.
Mr. Green has a hefty list of clients, which enables him to look spiffy, including the Arizona chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Anheuser-Busch Companies, Arizona Restaurant and Hospitality Association, BNSF Railway Company, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Homebuilders Association of Central Arizona, National Safety Council (Arizona chapter), Phoenix International Raceway, Southwest Airlines, The Boeing Company and VIAD Corp.
Mitch Menlove of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, another lawyer/lobbyist, shares the best-dressed honors for men. “You mean I was not the brightest or most powerful?” he asks rhetorically. “Those are the two I would want, but I guess you take what you can get.”
He, too, likes Brooks Brothers suits or something in the conservative vein from Nordstrom’s. “Nothing too extravagant,” Mr. Menlove says. “No fancy tailor and no custom suits.”
His price range is dictated by the fact that he has three children, ranging in age from seven years to seven months. “I try to do it on the cheap,” Mr. Menlove says. “My suits get worn out by the little guys — the 7-month-old likes to drool — so I have to buy new ones pretty regularly. Maybe that’s the secret.” He prefers Tommy Hilfiger ties.
Mr. Menlove, whose areas of expertise include business and finance, childcare, communications, economic development, government relations, health care, higher education, public relations and technology, isn’t sure why he was named best-dressed male.
“Maybe,” he says, “some of the other lobbyists are having fun with me.”