John Fetterman's Slovenly Style Reshaped Senatorial Standards
They say you oughta dress for the job you want. In that case, John Fetterman apparently wants to be a high school gym coach. Thing is, Fetterman's actually a senator from Philadelphia, so his intentionally slovenly style has something to say.
To be clear, I love how John Fetterman dresses. His Carhartt hoodies and HOKA sneakers simply reflect the fact that he's a man of the people but, political posturing aside, I enjoy seeing people confident enough to wear stuff that make them comfortable. It's one thing to have no style, it's a whole 'nother thing to intentionally dress down.
The magic of Fetterman's wardrobe is that it's bringing more change to the slow-moving American Senate than some senators achieve in their entire tenure.
On September 18, the Senate's Sergeant-at-Arms, which the AP describes as the chamber's "official clothes police," ceased enforcing the informal dress code that's long encouraged politicians to suit up.
These kinds of loose restrictions have been in place since the Senate was established centuries ago but all it took was a half-year of Fetterman wearing shorts to the floor to sweep 'em aside. Why is this the only thing that can make the wheels of American legislature turn this quickly?
The culture warriors who infest America's political class were naturally outraged. Shorts?! In the holy realm of politics?! How dare we. Anyways, yes, it's cool and normal when someone stalls a healthcare bill for 21 hours by reading Green Eggs & Ham.
Really, who cares what senators wear? If they want to represent the people, really, perhaps they ought to start dressing like them: only 3% of men wear suits to work these days, according to a Gallup poll cited by CNN.
Instead of looking at senators' outfits, let's listen to what they say and see what they do, hmm?
On a stylistic level, I care little for high-effort outfits that speak to someone trying really hard. There's a reason that well-dressed folks are often described as "effortless": you always look better when you aren't trying to impress anyone.
All those high-falutin' looks that folks wear to Fashion Week — forget about it. Give me an Adam Sandler any day of the week.
In that vein, John Fetterman's approach to getting dressed is similar to the tech warlords of Silicon Valley, who care little about their appearance because all that matters is their work.
The difference is that while Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are secretly wearing Issey Miyake and Brunello Cucinelli, Fetterman's closet is likely identical to most of his constituents', which makes him a heck of a lot more relateable than his besuited Senate peers.
That's a good quality for anyone to have, especially when they're helping shape the future of the country.
