Style or substance… Or rather: Style for Lack of Substance.

A style piece by Kareem Hassanien

Jan 14 2012

            Well now that we are a couple of weeks into the new year our fickle minds have already shifted from what was once thought of as the CLUE mystery game that is the Republican presidential primary (it was Professor Paul in the Library with the economics textbook by the way).  We are now in an inevitable game of Mousetrap where the remaining Republicans try to set up elaborate hurdles for Mitt Romney to get through on his way to the nomination. We know that he’ll likely make it through to the end but really we just want to see all the funny traps go off.

            Yet since the media is slowly beginning to see their reality show veering towards a boring predictable end they have been looking for anything else to fill the void.

            Newt Gingrich gave a little fodder with his entertaining invite to sit in on the NAACP to explain how African Americans should demand paychecks instead of food stamps despite the fact that half of people on food stamps are white and most people on the program have at least one job as comedian Jon Stewart pointed out last night. He really thought he was being a champ too as he later stated on MSNBC: “…I would have thought there would have been a positive response that says, Gosh. Here’s a Republican that cares enough that he’s willing to go and talk to one of the most left wing organizations in America about the people they represent.”

            Although Newts rants and awkward backpedaling (well not really… is sidepedaling a thing?) were amusing it seems that stories of irrelevance were going to be more fun.

            With that: Enter the Santorum sweater vest. With no less than 89 articles as of the time of this writing that I can find in pretty much every major US news publication. I figured it was time to make it an even 90. Not to mention that it has been all over the primetime shows as Santorum repeatedly states that his vests actually “gave him this power”.  He has already started using it in his political theories. When interviewed by Erin Burnett on CNN he told her his new official sweater vest line is available on his website and he believes they show that he is a supporter of the second amendment because they show: “…the right to bear arms”.

            Santorum believes it is the new look of the more conservative members of the party although I tend to believe lame rich white guys didn’t exactly shy away from sweater vests in the past. However his fashion forward trend is working. He is selling the vests for no less than $100 dollars a pop and in the few days it has been available on his website it has made an extra $100,000 for the campaign on the sleeveless sweaters alone. Dick Santorum has actually brought a style to prime time! Down with the sleeveless blue-collar wife-beaters! Up with the sleeveless white-collar…maid-beaters!

            Now Santorum isn’t the only one with a clothing line let’s not forget there is a current President of the United States. Obama has been amassing quite an election collection himself with designers such as Vera Wang, Danity Kane, and even Victoria’s Secret throwing in clothing (or lack thereof in Victoria Secrets case) in support of the current POTUS. A new website named Runway to Win is featuring clothes by designers such as Marc Jacobs, Tory Burch, Derek Lam and Von Furstenburg (these are apparently high up fashion people I’m supposed to know right?). There are also designs by Rachel Roy, Sean Jean, Beyonce’s House of Dereon (ah ok there we go) and even (chuckle) Russell Simmonds. I guess that Simmonds may be fitting in a sense since Obama supporters come November might very well be “Sweating to the Oldies” (oldies of course the taboo code for a Republican voter).