Esquire's Best and Worst Dressed Men on the Trail
What clothes shaped the horse race, what happens when the campaign literally gets ugly, and what you can learn as a man in power — or just a couple nice suits from it. An authoritative list from The Style Blog, no incumbents allowed.
The Best
You know, no one's going to look as good as Obama did out there two years ago. But not everyone's going to thank him, either: the House is already a lock for the GOP, says our pal Nate Silver, so we're sticking to the races that still matter — the diverse gubernatorial fields and nail-biter Senate races where a dapper debate or killer tie could make a difference. Subconsciously, at least. In our relatively unscientific but extremely discerning examination of more than 150 toss-up and standout races these past two weeks, we decided a couple things: hopefuls from the coasts dress well (maybe because they have to), Southern men have more room to improvise (and fail), while the Midwest — well, no one from the Midwest made our list. Which probably says a lot about how polarized this nation looks in late 2010: average-looking might be the new populist style, but here's hoping we're wrong.
Jimmy McMillan (Governor, New York)
The temperature's too damn hot for gloves — at least inside, at a debate, even you steal the show. And the tie — that's too damn loose. But the martial-arts instructor turned activist certainly has flair, and half of great style is confidence. With the kind of hair that is neither on your head nor your face but some kind of amorphous blend that does nothing so much as distract voters from the competition, the rest is all forgiven.
The Takeaway: A dignified man matches his beard to his face shape,
Marco Rubio (Senator, Florida)
It's true: good looks don't win an election, but in Florida, being presentable goes a long way. A good tailor? That wins anywhere. And for such a fiscal hawk, this 39-year-old sure doesn't skimp on his suits, which fit him well enough to lay a beat-down on the tall, dark, and handsome Charlie Crist.
The Takeaway: No matter how... conservative your color choices, a precise tie knot has subliminal power with the people.
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