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| Why it matters that Republican hopeful Paul Ryan dresses so badly | Why it matters that Republican hopeful Paul Ryan dresses so badly |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| I have noticed a lot of talk of late in the press about Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's running mate, and his suits. Is this really an issue? | I have noticed a lot of talk of late in the press about Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's running mate, and his suits. Is this really an issue? |
| Matt, by email | Matt, by email |
| Yes, Matt, it is. Sure, there are other far more, shall we say, politically relevant issues, such as his frankly terrifying plans for Medicare and how they will affect the elderly in the United States (other than Ryan's mother, that is, who he duly trotted out last weekend to prove that he is not the gerontocidal maniac he has been painted as being, at least not in the case of his mother.) There's his belief that abortion shouldn't ever be legal, even in cases of rape or incest. There's his scepticism about climate change. There's his long-standing admiration for Ayn Rand, which, as my colleague Giles Fraser wrote last week, and as Catholic bishops in the US also said, somewhat contradicts his oft-trumpeted Christian faith. There's the way his selection makes Romney look more of a weak flip-flopper than ever, seeing as he has said he doesn't even agree with Ryan on various crucial issues and yet nonetheless selected him, which I'm sure had nothing to do with Rupert Murdoch and various other big cogs pushing for Romney to do so. | Yes, Matt, it is. Sure, there are other far more, shall we say, politically relevant issues, such as his frankly terrifying plans for Medicare and how they will affect the elderly in the United States (other than Ryan's mother, that is, who he duly trotted out last weekend to prove that he is not the gerontocidal maniac he has been painted as being, at least not in the case of his mother.) There's his belief that abortion shouldn't ever be legal, even in cases of rape or incest. There's his scepticism about climate change. There's his long-standing admiration for Ayn Rand, which, as my colleague Giles Fraser wrote last week, and as Catholic bishops in the US also said, somewhat contradicts his oft-trumpeted Christian faith. There's the way his selection makes Romney look more of a weak flip-flopper than ever, seeing as he has said he doesn't even agree with Ryan on various crucial issues and yet nonetheless selected him, which I'm sure had nothing to do with Rupert Murdoch and various other big cogs pushing for Romney to do so. |
| There's Ryan's occasional trouble with the truth, to say nothing of consistency, such as when it recently transpired that, despite voting against the stimulus bill, and his repeated denials that he then asked for stimulus funds on behalf of local businesses in Wisconsin ("I'm not gonna vote [against] something and then write letters to the government to send us money. I did not request any stimulus money," he told a radio station in 2010), he actually did – and perhaps you can sense the way the wind is blowing in this sentence – send letters to the government asking for stimulus funds for local businesses. | There's Ryan's occasional trouble with the truth, to say nothing of consistency, such as when it recently transpired that, despite voting against the stimulus bill, and his repeated denials that he then asked for stimulus funds on behalf of local businesses in Wisconsin ("I'm not gonna vote [against] something and then write letters to the government to send us money. I did not request any stimulus money," he told a radio station in 2010), he actually did – and perhaps you can sense the way the wind is blowing in this sentence – send letters to the government asking for stimulus funds for local businesses. |
| Finally, there's the fascinating contradiction this throws up for older white voters who don't particularly fancy voting for Obama but, on the other hand, want to hold on tight to their Medicare. All of this then leads us inexorably to the corner into which the Republican party seems increasingly determined to paint itself, a corner inaccessible to moderates and old-school Republicans and favoured only by the fringe and hysterical. | Finally, there's the fascinating contradiction this throws up for older white voters who don't particularly fancy voting for Obama but, on the other hand, want to hold on tight to their Medicare. All of this then leads us inexorably to the corner into which the Republican party seems increasingly determined to paint itself, a corner inaccessible to moderates and old-school Republicans and favoured only by the fringe and hysterical. |
| So yes, there are things to discuss other than Ryan's suits. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be discussed at all. I say that not from a fashion writer's perspective, nor even from a feminist's (although certainly the feminist part of me is cheered that a male politician's wardrobe has been perused in the US press with the kind of scrutiny usually reserved for the ladies. Equally, the fashion writer part of me is delighted that the mainstream press is as bugged by things such as shoulder pads and trouser lengths as me. | So yes, there are things to discuss other than Ryan's suits. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be discussed at all. I say that not from a fashion writer's perspective, nor even from a feminist's (although certainly the feminist part of me is cheered that a male politician's wardrobe has been perused in the US press with the kind of scrutiny usually reserved for the ladies. Equally, the fashion writer part of me is delighted that the mainstream press is as bugged by things such as shoulder pads and trouser lengths as me. |
| Last week, the Washington Post devoted 700 words to discussing Ryan's "sloppy" suits. Cathy Horyn, fashion editor of the New York Times, brought out the Big analogy, saying Ryan resembled Tom Hanks when [SPOILER ALERT] he becomes a child again at the end of the film but is still clad in his adult suit. The US website Jezebel.com described Ryan's look succinctly as "Dad-pants". | Last week, the Washington Post devoted 700 words to discussing Ryan's "sloppy" suits. Cathy Horyn, fashion editor of the New York Times, brought out the Big analogy, saying Ryan resembled Tom Hanks when [SPOILER ALERT] he becomes a child again at the end of the film but is still clad in his adult suit. The US website Jezebel.com described Ryan's look succinctly as "Dad-pants". |
| So the man dresses badly. That's the least of his flaws, right? Sure but it's still an interesting stylistic tic of Ryan's because it's not that he dresses badly – it's that he buys clothes that are too big for him. Ryan is known to be quite a workout fiend and, judging from the sound of his exercise regime, must have the body of an Olympian. He's clearly no shrinking violet in terms of putting himself forward. Why – or what – is he hiding? | So the man dresses badly. That's the least of his flaws, right? Sure but it's still an interesting stylistic tic of Ryan's because it's not that he dresses badly – it's that he buys clothes that are too big for him. Ryan is known to be quite a workout fiend and, judging from the sound of his exercise regime, must have the body of an Olympian. He's clearly no shrinking violet in terms of putting himself forward. Why – or what – is he hiding? |
| There are only three possibilities: | There are only three possibilities: |
| 1. He used to be a bit plumper and hasn't had time to buy new clothes; | 1. He used to be a bit plumper and hasn't had time to buy new clothes; |
| 2. He is compensating for his desired lack of coverage in older people's medical insurance by giving himself extra coverage in his clothes; | 2. He is compensating for his desired lack of coverage in older people's medical insurance by giving himself extra coverage in his clothes; |
| 3. He's one of Those Guys who, as the New York Times's Bruce Pask puts it, confuses ovesized clothes with masculinity and is therefore trying to compensate for his perceived lack of manliness by bulking up sartorially. | 3. He's one of Those Guys who, as the New York Times's Bruce Pask puts it, confuses ovesized clothes with masculinity and is therefore trying to compensate for his perceived lack of manliness by bulking up sartorially. |
| Number 1 we can rule out because we know from photos Ryan wasn't plumper in the recent past. Number 2 is possible, but obviously ridiculous. Number 3 it is and it also explains Ryan's aggression towards the elderly, poor and women. The insecure always try to find self-validation by picking on the vulnerable, don't they? Paul, dude, get over yourself. Start picking on people your own size, and by that I mean your actual size, not your suit size. And Paul? Get a tailor. | Number 1 we can rule out because we know from photos Ryan wasn't plumper in the recent past. Number 2 is possible, but obviously ridiculous. Number 3 it is and it also explains Ryan's aggression towards the elderly, poor and women. The insecure always try to find self-validation by picking on the vulnerable, don't they? Paul, dude, get over yourself. Start picking on people your own size, and by that I mean your actual size, not your suit size. And Paul? Get a tailor. |
| • Post your questions to Hadley Freeman, Ask Hadley, The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Email ask.hadley@guardian.co.uk |