What's the deal with George Santos' outfits?

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     January 18, 2023 When it comes to George Santos, strangeness abounds. There's the Republican congressman's prolific web of lies concerning his personal biography. [Shady business deals](. [Dating app personas](. The [sudden resurrection of a mystery firm]( he had claimed as the source of millions of dollars of income. Then there's the question of his clothes. Watching the [GOP fabulist slipping]( around Congress the past few weeks, it's been difficult to identify exactly what bothers me so much about his appearance. Yeah, Santos dresses a bit preppy, some would say straight-up dorky. But so do most members of Congress. So what is it about Santos' sartorial choices that have caused my eyes to cross? What is it even about his look that screams fraud? Well, thank goodness for Vanessa Friedman, the style maven at the New York Times, who is out today with a [pitch-perfect column on Santos' costuming.]( Friedman argues that Santos' specific outfit choices played a critical role in convincing his fellow Republicans that Santos was the real thing, just like in The Talented Mr. Ripley. At first glance, he conforms to the new kid in Congress look: crew-neck sweaters, crisp button-downs, fleeces. But Lisa Birnbach, author of the evergreen 1980 bestseller The Official Preppy Handbook, tells Friedman that something doesn't quite add up about his style: He went deep into the costume department of the popular culture hive mind and built his cover story layer by layer, garment by garment. [...] Mr. Santos’s version of preppy style is too groomed, too layered, too contrived to be that of a genuine prepster. She said she hadn’t seen a crew neck under a blazer over a tie since George Plimpton ran The Paris Review in the second half of the 20th century. Mr. Santos, she said, looks like an extra in “Family Ties,” the sitcom that starred Michael J. Fox as a teenage Republican. He’s trying too hard. I genuinely felt a gratifying stab of relief reading this. If only someone could explain the bizarre wardrobe choices of a [certain Arizona senator]( who is out in [Davos right now, actually high-fiving]( over her refusal to reform the filibuster. Strangeness abounds indeed. —Inae Oh Advertisement [Oxford University Press - Williams]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Two Years Ago This Brazilian Expert on the Far Right Predicted Their Insurrection]( "It was inevitable." BY ISABELA DIAS SPONSORED CONTENT BY HEIFER INTERNATIONAL   Free Goat Tote with Your Monthly Gift Heifer International is a global nonprofit dedicated to ending hunger and poverty. As a monthly donor, you’ll give families the resources, education and opportunity to thrive. If you join now, we’ll send you your very own goat tote to say thanks. [Join today]( — and make a difference for a lifetime. [Trending] [Sinema and Manchin high-five over refusing to reform the filibuster in a room full of the richest people on earth]( BY ABIGAIL WEINBERG   ["An extreme amount of pain": How a notorious jail failed a disabled transgender inmate]( BY EMMA RINDLISBACHER   [How Stokely Carmichael inspired the creation of C-SPAN]( BY EAMON WHALEN   [6-year-old school shooter case grows even more disturbing]( BY MARK FOLLMAN Advertisement [Oxford University Press]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [Inside the powerful anti-abortion campaign to convince you that everything is just fine]( Be careful of what you read about miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies right now. KIERA BUTLER AND MADDIE OATMAN [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755