'It's powerful': How John Fetterman's hoodie won popular vote in Pennsylvania



By his own admission, new Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman no longer looks like "a typical baby-kisser".

Just over 6ft 8in with a goatee, tattoos on his forearms and a rugged tendency more akin to work clothes (for his reliable portrayal he chose to sit in a camp blouse Gray Dickies crumpled in front of the United States flag), Fetterman has been described as the nation's first "work clothes senator" and "a dude in shorts".

Yet despite this — or perhaps because of it — he broke the Republican grip on Pennsylvania's white running elegance vote while wearing a black Carhartt hoodie, an item of clothing "that isn't chic , is well made and most importantly will last - all traits that a politician like Fetterman probably wants to convey in what he wears,” says Erynn Masi de Casanova, professor professor of sociology at the University of Cincinnati and author of Buttoned Up: Clothing, Conformity, and White-Collar Masculinity. "Ultimately, this hoodie is a simple way to study what it appears to be coping with."

Fetterman's unreconstructed wardrobe - which consists also a lime green neck warmer, 501s, oversized swim shorts and, in an ordinary oddity, a multi-hundred-dollar pair of Maison Margiela faceted zipper boots – became something of a topic of discussion since the former mayor entered American politics. a fashion icon via at the same time as nevertheless a lieutenant governor, he replied on Twitter that he had "a terrible sense of style". Pressed for a similar remark, he in which he said, "I no longer seem like a typical flesh presser, nor do I look like a standard individual" - alluding to his top - before explaining why he has tattoos: on his left arm is 15104, the postcode for Braddock, the steel town of which he was previously mayor, and on the right are the dates of five murders in the town since his election.

But it was the hoodie that dominated the narrative. Casanova says, "It's fitting that we continue to imbue an object that almost everyone has in their closet with so much meaning." Yet context is everything. Rishi Sunak was mocked by most of the UK media for wearing a gray Everlane hoodie (much the same price as Carhartt, though nicer for gyms) to his office, even in 2019's "When Fetterman fired back by mocking Oz's "Gucci moccasins" for being taken offline, the post went viral, but the media climate nonetheless dictates that it's highly unusual for a baby-kisser to put one on." Pennsylvania is its own thing with a very solid work history, it's more critical than the dress,” says the American political commentator. the political act, but as O'Neil puts it, furthermore he is "only a few men wearing what feels comfortable".

Hoodies are the last bastion of the slow casualness of political dress, which began when JFK shunned a hat for his 1961 inaugural speech and stood unfurled as Barack Obama rolled up his sleeves to sit with diners on the campaign trail. . In his Medium post, Fetterman alluded to lacking “the political metaphorical sleeves to roll up — all I wear are short-sleeved shirts, because hard work is the best way to build our bands.” back".

What will happen to his cloth wardrobe if Fetterman progresses remains to be seen. In the House of Representatives, guys must always wear a coat and tie while Congress is in session. Fetterman boasts a cut — publicly worn to the max when he was sworn in as lieutenant governor in 2019 — but insists he .

What are they wearing? politicians have the power to invent or even maintain their identity, and Fetterman's hoodie is a perfect example of that. “If it means he is being pathologized for a nefarious motive with the help of his detractors, that is all the more powerful,” says Casanova. "It's absolutely for him, so he'll probably laugh all the way to the Senate."