A definitive investigation of George Santos[‘s Style]
As an ode to my favorite 21st century journalistic icon, Ziwe Fumudoh, I was inspired to do some investigative journalism of my own after watching 17 glorious minutes of her George Santos interview, which I attest is even better than it sounds.
As I’ve said before, dress for the job you want. Ziwe has embodied this adage for years, always showing up and showing out in power suits that are every bit as fabulous as they are professional. Our host not only pays her respects to well-dressed interview mavens of generations past, but one-ups them in wit, candor, and sartorial sense. She is no stranger to a padded shoulder and an unapologetic pop of color. Ziwe never plays cloak and dagger - what you see is what you get. Bold, no nonsense looks from a woman ready to grill her interviewee in a signature style that finds just the right balance between unrelenting and totally benignly fair.
Ziwe in vintage Jean Paul Gaultier. Courtesy of Ziwe.
This is certainly true in the Santos interview as we see Ziwe perched and poised in vintage 80’s Jean Paul Gaultier sourced from Studded Petals Vintage. I am unsurprised that our girl is as much an environmentally conscious resale queen (Santos’s word, not mine) as she is a comedic genius. The red blazer is all rose, no ruse as Ziwe lays it on…honestly pretty mildly, with straightforward questions such as “who is Marsha P. Johnson?” and “what’s [your husband’s] last name?”
While Ziwe is my icon, George Santos was the ultimate “I con” in every sense. Down to his Hermes bracelet, worn in plain view throughout the entire interview. Even the moment when he *checks notes* claimed to “not actually own the Hermes stuff.” Ziwe didn’t even need to do Santos dirty because that man is his own worst enemy. I’m truly grateful to this fraudster of a “not politician” for enabling my proclivity for fashion-based psychoanalysis. At 12:21 we hear Santos announce, with a giggle, that when his mind conjures the image of a criminal, they are wearing a blue suit. Cue the post-production montage of Santos’s many blue suited looks from his brief congressional run. On that note, please indulge me as I break down the expulsion chic uniform of a modern-day clown slash potential (by his own accord?) criminal.
George Santos famously can’t keep his story straight. Not about where he went to high school, where he’s worked, or even, evidently, the clothes off his back. Santos makes a point to mention, apropos of absolutely nothing, that the overly formal double breasted blue blazer he’s donning was allegedly made by a black designer and can be purchased at Macy’s. After many hours of digging, my fact checking team was unable to verify this claim. Could he be fabricating his own fabrics? Underneath this blazer we find a black turtleneck, which has been adopted as the universal calling card of 20th century creative masterminds, con-women, and that exceptionally average guy at your friend’s holiday party who’s hoping that a few additional inches of fabric around the neck produces an air of worldliness and intellect (it doesn’t). Finally, the former New York Representative caps off his look with Ferragamo sock sneakers, in which he won’t be running for re-election but which do presumably provide requisite traction as one scurries around the capital with a staffer’s baby.
I encourage everyone to watch this important piece of journalism which I can only describe as a grab bag of miscellaneous self-perjury. As in, in the final minute of the interview Santos grabs at Ziwe’s Hermes bag, which has been stuffed with cash. I suppose not even the ultimate fraudster can con his way into a Birkin. Sigh. In the meantime, you can head to Montage to explore (and shop) dozens of Ziwe’s best looks.
