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• September 3, 2008
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24 Hour Party People: Styles of the Grand Old Party

By Gabriel Bell

In the interest of equal time and balanced coverage, we feel obliged to offer a brief survey of the fashions on display at the ongoing Republican National Convention. After all, we gorged ourselves on images from when the Dems converged in Denver. Despite our journalistic ideals, though, we've found this task harder than thought as the clothes are being lost in the politics (when will people learn.) Not only do we not have the cameras of the left-leaning Huffington Post on the ground, but it seems the media at large is presumes that the best fashion they could hope for at the RNC is a half-hearted gathering of old men in blue suits with red ties. Oh, but they would be wrong…kinda.

Thanks to the New York Times we got a good peek at the classic denim-shirt-and-stetson combo rocked by those hellraisers in the Texas delegation, the tropical resort chic of the representatives from Florida, and this sexy candid of a hot-stepping amber-clad conservative beauty. As well, there was a fashion show (upper left) hosted by Lisa Rinna in the Mall of America. Featuring snakeskin accessories and animal print tops, it was the perfect compliment to a party that just nominated a Vice Presidential candidate who thinks that hunting wolves from airplanes is hot, hot, hot. Also, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune offered this piercing analysis of Republican style noting that it was more, "More Talbots than Limited, more Escada than Prada"—a dress code based on protecting values and honoring uniformity. On that note, perhaps the most stunning fashion impression from the convention so far was a rousing appearance by the original boys in blue. You know what they say, everyone loves a man in uniform.

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