Bad Sweater Guy: Hail to the Sweater

The story

Not so long ago, my friend Kevin cleaned out his wardrobe, which, due to his pack rat nature, was crammed with clothes he hadn't worn in more than a decade. Among the discarded were 25 sweaters that can generously be described as "hideous." Or, as one critic put it, "Bill Cosby would not wear this." Kevin's defense? "I worked at Marshalls in North Olmsted, Ohio, during high school and got a 15 percent discount. It was cold. It was the late '80s." The horror, the horror. Click here to see them, but be warned. Your eyes. The burning.

Hail to the Sweater

My recent excavation through my old photos turned up another gem. This one's from mid-February 1992. That's me, Bad Sweater Guy, there in the middle, chatting up then-Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas. I had traveled to New Hampshire with a group of Northwestern University students who were canvassing on Clinton's behalf. I covered their exploits for The Daily Northwestern.

Note that I’m actually wearing one of my signature Bad Sweaters, and the governor seems unfazed. Do Bad Sweaters really have any affect on politics? After meeting me and my Bad Sweater, Clinton went on to a surprising second-place finish in the Democratic primary. Flash forward to 2008, when Sen. John McCain lashed out at his advisers for making him wear “gay sweaters."

Clinton? Sweater tolerant. Two-term president. McCain? Sweater intolerant. Not president.

Posted by Bad Sweater Guy in Kevin's Sweaters | Permalink

Comments

Bad Sweater Guy - we are digging your blog, and of course your unbelievable wardrobe choices over the years! We have linked your blog to ours, rewindknits.wordpress.com. We got a little random and did a few Bill Cosby sweater posts, and during our research found you. This was all inspired by one of your long lost brothers, Jon W, who has in fact saved his bad collection (and expensive too!) of Coogi sweaters and during a alcohol laced good time card night at his house, his wife put it on as a joke and paraded around in his former fashion choice. He defended that sweater to the end, but to no avail. Hence our fascination with Bad Sweater Guys, such as yourself. Keep up the quality work!
Brandy and Mary

Posted by: Brandy and Mary | December 03, 2009 at 06:03 AM

Note that Clinton is averting his eyes.

Posted by: mayrav | December 03, 2009 at 01:20 PM