Convention Style Face-Off: Scoring the Candidates and Their Supporters

The Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia this week and the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last week offered up quite the study in contrasts, in everything from overall tone to nuts-and-bolts policy proposals. Not only did the candidates and their surrogates lay out very different visions for the future of America, but they and their peers also made very different style choices while doing so. And while we’d never reduce the candidates to their fashion choices, those choices can subtly underline — or undermine — their politics (Donald Trump’s Italian-made suits, anyone?). Below, a round-by-round look at who said — and wore — what, and our picks for winners and losers for each category.

Round 1: First Spouse: Former Model Melania Trump vs. 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton

For Team Clinton, President Clinton stuck to the classics, wearing a navy suit, Democrat-blue tie, crisp white shirt, black dress shoes, and a Shinola watch. He also shared the long-and-winding tale of his and Hillary’s life together, from Yale Law to Arkansas to the White House to New York to D.C. again and beyond. While he made some questionable comments in regards to racial justice and about Muslim Americans, it was nothing compared with what gets said at your run-of-the-mill Trump rally. His speech also succeeded in shedding new insight onto a woman who has lived in the public eye for the better part of three decades, as well as showing just how impossible it is to summarize her longstanding commitment to public service and work for social justice in one speech.

When it comes to Team Trump, the identity of Mrs. Trump’s speechwriter? Still murky. The identity of the big-speech-wedding-dress designer? An irrefutable fashion-world darling. Mrs. Trump wore Roksanda Ilincic, the Serbian-born, London-based designer known for her bold use of color and clever interplay between shape, pattern, and texture. She spoke of the values instilled in her by her parents, the kinds of values she and her husband hope to instill in their children. But here’s the hitch: The giant belled sleeves of Mrs. Trump’s dress were only slightly less distracting than the appropriated authorship of her remarks.

Point: Team Clinton

Round 2: First Daughter: Ivanka Trump vs. Chelsea Clinton

Chelsea Clinton wore a formfitting knit red dress to introduce her mother to accept her party’s nomination for the presidency. The strong color offered a nice counterpoint to Chelsea’s quiet, humble demeanor and the intimate and detailed stories she told about the kind of parent and public servant her mother has always been. We’re still crying at the thought of the stack of notes Secretary Clinton left for her daughter to read when she had to travel out of the country for work — notes that mentioned the importance of the policy knowledge she hoped to gain in her travels to help more American children, no less. And when she said that her mother taught her that “public service is about service” — well, that red dress seemed to glow that much brighter.

For the Trump camp, Trump’s older daughter — and only daughter with first wife Ivana — wore a dress and shoes from her namesake collection. A similar, but not exact same style, is currently available for sale at Macy’s — and Ms. Trump tweeted out an affiliate referral link to shop it the morning after she spoke on the final night of the Republican convention to introduce her father. During her (incredibly compelling and effortlessly delivered) speech, Trump tried to make a case for why her father is a great candidate for women voters, and for millions of women and young working mothers in particular. She promised that a vote for her father would translate into seeing the gender pay gap resolved, paid family leave, and an end to the discrimination women often face in the workplace should they choose to grow their families while also trying to develop their career. All of these points are hugely important and highly desirable — it’s too bad, though, that her father has yet to ever speak publicly or present any policy proposals in regards to any of them.

Point: Team Clinton

Round 3: Vice Presidential Nominee: Indiana Governor Mike Pence vs. Virginia Senator Tim Kaine

Sen. Tim Kaine has already emerged as the Internet’s favorite goofy-earnest dad. To drive home this message, he eschewed the buttoned-up professionalism of wearing a white dress shirt to address the nation and introduce himself and his policy positions, instead going for more casual blue. Kaine spoke about how much he trusts his running mate, Hillary — especially with his Marine son’s life as a potential future commander in chief. He also did an impression of Republican nominee Donald Trump that was so bad it was good. Also, he broke the Internet with an explosion of dad jokes that his turn in the spotlight inspired. Also, he loves harmonicas and always travels with at least four of them.

Trump’s veep pick, Governor Mike Pence, was another man to assume the convention stage in a navy suit, white shirt, and blue tie — appropriately conservative choices for a man who told attendees that this running mate “is a man known for a large personality, a colorful style, and lots of charisma. So I think he was just looking for some balance on the ticket.” While Pence earns points in our books for the jokey self-deprecation, the draconian policies he has put in place in his state in regards to LGBTQ rights and reproductive rights are hardly funny. His desire to legalize discrimination based on sexual and gender identity and to criminalize the actions of doctors working to provide comprehensive reproductive health care for women clearly show that while his wardrobe plays it safe, his outlook on America is anything but.

Point: Team Clinton

Round 4: Television Star: Duck Dynasty’s Willie Robertson vs. Lena Dunham of Girls

Longtime Hillary superfan Lena Dunham wore an $898 white off-the-shoulder sheath with a front slit by Uruguay-born, New York-based designer Gabriela Hearst and black stiletto sandals to talk about the danger of Trump’s rhetoric toward women and the powerful results of the work that Clinton has done for survivors of sexual assault. Dunham wearing a dress by a Latino American was a subtly cool way to reinforce co-speaker America Ferrera’s point that, no, contrary to what Mr. Trump might say, not all Latino immigrants are “rapists.”

With his signature stars and stripes bandanna tied around his forehead, Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson took to the podium the opening night of the Republican convention in a slouchy navy suit and pink dress shirt unbuttoned to Miami Vice proportions to lecture the media on why they “missed the Trump Train,” saying that they “don’t hang out with regular folks like us, who like to hunt and fish and pray and actually work for a living.” The unflattering, boxy cut of his suit paled in comparison to the unflattering — and untrue — description of all the journalists and media types we have ever known.

Point: Team Clinton

Round 5: Movie Star: Antonio Sabato Jr. vs. Elizabeth Banks

Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect, and 30 Rock star Elizabeth Banks appeared the second night of the Democratic convention in a white Elie Saab dress bedecked with white tonal paillettes that would not have looked out of place on former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. The fit-and-flare style with sheer panels at the collarbone were a perfect mix of classic and modern — and a perfect metaphor for watching Hillary Clinton, who has been in the public eye for the better part of her adult life, finally shatter the glass ceiling and clinch her party’s nomination the night Banks held court.

Former Calvin Klein underwear model and actor Antonio Sabato Jr. is not uneasy to look at. However, the navy pinstripe suit paired with a checked blue dress shirt and baby blue tonal paisley silk tie that he wore to speak at the Republican convention made for a confusing muddle of color and pattern. Also confusing? His continued insistence that President Obama is Muslim, a fact that is both fundamentally untrue and also incredibly offensive when used as Sabato does, as an attribute that would somehow immediately disqualify someone from the presidency.

Point: Team Clinton

Round 6: The Unexpected Friend: Scott Baio vs. First Lady Michelle Obama

The fabulous first lady delivered what it is being heralded as maybe one of the greatest — if not the greatest — speech at a nominating convention ever to the Democrats in Philadelphia. She spoke about the importance of being a role model to your own children and the nation’s children in everything you do and the kinds of values instilled in children that contribute to American greatness. Best of all, she did this while wearing a cap-sleeve Christian Siriano dress in classic Democrat blue — a move made all the more awesome considering the way Siriano teamed up with Saturday Night Live star Leslie Jones to create her red carpet look when other designers refused to dress her for the Ghostbusters premiere because of her size. So, bringing America to tears while talking about our children’s future, while wearing a designer that embodies feminism, body positivity, and good taste in comedy all in one fell swoop? Let’s just call it a hard act to beat — and why the Internet is now begging for #FLOTUS4POTUS.

Meanwhile, former Charles in Charge star Scott Baio took to the Republican stage wearing a dark gray suit, white shirt, red tie, and flag pin. Also, the day before he did so, he called Hillary Clinton a word we can’t put in print. Plus, he hasn’t really done anything since Charles in Charge other than become a Trump superfan.

Point: Team Clinton

Round 7: The Candidate: Reality Television Personality Donald J. Trump vs. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

A woman in white with her eyes on the White House, Hillary Clinton managed to honor the contributions of the suffragettes who fought for a woman’s right to vote, to continue the belief in hope (both the town and the noun) that her husband President Bill Clinton and her colleague President Barack Obama have continued to insist upon, and ask that all eyes be on her — the real her, absent of any stereotypes and petty name-calling — to focus on the importance of words she had to say and not the fleeting political hoopla surrounding them. Not bad for an evening’s work for one simple, no-frills pantsuit.

Donald Trump was all doom and gloom — and but a little light on facts — when he accepted the Republican Party’s nomination for president last week in Cleveland. But he was outfitted in classic businessman style: dark navy suit, white shirt, and — of course — Republican red tie. While the candidate does make his own line of suits, shirts, and ties — mainly made in China and available for sale on Amazon — he himself famously wears only Italian luxury designer Brioni, whose suits typically retail somewhere north of $5,000 a pop. It remains unclear how a beautifully made Italian suit fits in with Trump’s vision of American greatness.

Point: Team Clinton