Today is Super Tuesday and as someone who never follows politics, I had to be informed of it when I arrived at the office this morning. Personally, nothing could interest me less than watching the U.S. primaries. That is, until I realized it could be turned into a fashion face off!

Instead of actually paying attention, I’m going to take the most superficial road possible and judge the four male hopefuls on their sense of style and offer you the best and worst dressed of the GOP candidates. I can’t tell you how sad I am that Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and even Hillary Clinton aren’t available for judging. The boys will have to take the full brunt of my early afternoon anger. Here they are in order from best to worst.  

1. Mitt Romney

At the top of the four candidates is Mitt with his relaxed style and George ‘Dubs’ Bush swagger. Romney has been a consistently great dresser during his campaign. He easily goes from checkered button ups and jeans to crisp dark suits and blue ties. As a Republican he might not like to hear that he reminds me of one of the most famous Democrats of all time but I am really loving his JFK-esque hairdo. It’s not quite as high as the original but is still the best coif on the circuit.    

Image: Esquire

2. Rick Santorum

Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes gets to be higher on the list because of his willingness to take a risk when it comes to his signature style. True, sweatervests may not be as outlandish as I’m making them seem, but they’re a tad out of the box when all your other opponents are wearing suits. I think he’s a secret fan of the colour blocking trend since I’ve seen him in a red vest over a pink shirt. Some have commented that the sweatervests give him a ‘dated professor’ look but as long as he steers clear of blazers with leather elbow patches, I think he should be fine.   

Image: NY Times

3. Newt Gingrich

Mr. Gingrich almost found a place at the very bottom of this list because of an unfortunate picture in a short sleeve dress shirt and belted khakis. Lucky for him he’s usually rocking a black suit. Gingrich likes to spice things up with the occasional bright yellow tie and I love him for it. That’s what these dull primaries need. Colour! He also gets extra points (which are fake so a million extra points!) for finding a great accessory in glasses. Sure he might actually need them but they don’t hurt in making him look a wee bit smarter. The problem gets to be with the fit of his suits. More than once I’ve noticed that his jacket button looks close to shooting right off his torso. Just go up a size Gingrich…no one has to know. 

4. Ron Paul

This guy just dresses…old. And at 77 he is the oldest of the bunch. Honestly, someone of that age should recognize the importance of a properly tailored suit. More often than not Paul wears suits that are oversized and have excessive shoulder pads. This succeeds in making him look older and smaller, almost like he’s folding up into himself. Paul also finds himself in my bad books for having a name that gets me all excited when I hear it only to be crushed when I realize they said Ron Paul and not RuPaul. 

Image: ABC

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Bianca Teixeira writes about style and sparkly things for Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter at @BeeIsTheNewBlog.

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