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Rick Santorum sweater vest: 'What not to wear' or sleeveless genius?

Rick Santorum's sleeveless sweater vest has taken on a life of its own this week, even garnishing its own Twitter account. Candidates' sartorial choices many times take on special significance.

It鈥檚 not often that a political candidate鈥檚聽fashion choices take on a life of their own 鈥� they are after all, supposed to be聽 plugging more, well, substantial stuff. But, the weekend before the New Hampshire primary Tuesday, the sleeveless sweater vest that former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum put on the map has become a hot Internet and retail item, with sellers from Amazon to Joseph Banks experiencing a rush in customer demand.聽

The mania picked up after a video called 鈥淪leeves Slow Me Down鈥� went viral over the weekend. That聽came after the vest聽acquired a Twitter feed of its own, @FearRicksVest, and a Tumblr under the same name.聽The obsession with the sartorial choices of the second-place winner in the Iowa caucus is not surprising, say political analysts and fashion watchers.

鈥淲e talk about fashion when we鈥檝e run out of聽聽actual substantial topics to cover,鈥� points out Republican strategist David Johnson, who worked on Sen. Robert Dole鈥檚 1988 presidential campaign. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in a 24-hour news cycle now and just about every topic in the political realm has been exhausted,鈥� he adds.聽

鈥淲e鈥檝e had 12 debates,鈥� says Barbara O鈥機onnor, director emeritus of the Institute for Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento. 鈥淲hat on earth is there possibly left to talk about that we don鈥檛 already know about these candidates?鈥�

But Ms. O'Connor is quick to point out that as our political culture is increasingly dominated by visual communication, 鈥渆specially in a campaign that has received so much coverage so far, the nonverbal take away rises to 80 to 90 percent of the communication.鈥�

鈥淲hether it鈥檚 Santorum鈥檚 sweater vest, Palin鈥檚 glasses, or Hillary Clinton鈥檚 pant suit, political fashion can serve to tell us something about the candidate,鈥� says Catherine Wilson, assistant professor of political science at Villanova University.

When political fashion works well, such as Hillary Clinton鈥檚 pant suits, it serves as a candidate鈥檚 professional trademark. When it malfunctions 鈥� such as the "Mission Accomplished" incident聽when President Bush dressed in a flight suit on the deck of the聽USS Abraham Lincoln聽and declared an end to major military operations in Iraq聽鈥� it dramatizes an already controversial event. In these cases candidates can't avoid being drawn into the world of fashion.

Political campaigns are awash in examples of the good, the bad, and the downright disastrous when it comes to fashion forays, says Thad Kousser, associate聽 professor of political science at the University of California in San Diego.聽Iconic images such as 1988 Democratic candidate Paul Simon鈥檚聽well-known bowtie can sum up the public鈥檚 understanding of the former senator from Illinois, he says. 鈥淗e was a bit of a weenie intellectual and that bowtie said it all.鈥� Supporters seemed to like the tie, handing out bowtie pins at events.聽

And when sartorial choices are disastrous they can take on a negative life of their own. 鈥淲hen Michael Dukakis put on that helmet and rode around in that tank,鈥� he says, 鈥渋t pretty much sealed the end of his campaign.鈥� The image of massive military headgear completely overwhelming the man reinforced concern among some voters that he was not experienced enough to be commander-in-chief.

Mr. Santorum's sweater vest is just one of many efforts at connecting with the common man, points out Kousser. In the 1996 presidential campaign, Lamar Alexander was famous for his plaid shirts, denoting his appreciation for the everyman. Senator Scott Brown ran his senatorial campaign in Massachusetts to fill Ted Kennedy鈥檚 empty seat, sporting a barn jacket and driving a red pickup with a hitch. Even聽Mitt Romney, one of the wealthiest men ever to run for president, has begun sporting jeans and a no-tie look to send聽an all-important populist message.

Despite some progress, most political strategists say there is still very much a double standard for men and women when it comes to fashion choices. Michele Bachmann鈥檚 handlers would not allow their candidate to be聽photographed wearing cargo pants 鈥� even after her triumphant Iowa straw poll win. And Sarah Palin was widely criticized when word leaked out about sizable clothing expenditures at Neiman Marcus. 鈥淭his is just part of that old saw that glamorous women will spend too much money and can鈥檛 be trusted,鈥� points out Kousser.