After a couple of months of scrutiny of Anthony Fauci’s button-downs, Deborah Birx’s Hermès scarves, and Andrew Cuomo’s polos, coronavirus-era fashion criticism has moved into the Senate. On Tuesday, Fauci, along with three other top medical officials, virtually testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee about the risk of an exacerbated coronavirus outbreak if the U.S. reopens too quickly.
There was Tim Kaine, who likely got the most attention on Twitter for his patterned (dip-dyed?) bandana:
Maybe it was an effort to show that there are alternatives to medical masks you might already have at home? Or maybe it was just a chance for the former vice-presidential candidate to grab a new kind of spotlight.
Kaine was seated at some distance from Richard Burr, who was in a baby blue camo mask, although he didn’t wear it the whole time. Rand Paul didn’t bother at all, preferring to show off his new beard.
A New York Times story from last month asked, “Should Masks Be a Fashion Statement?” More recently, a Washington Post story explained that “Masks are here to stay. And they’re quickly becoming a way to express ourselves.” The political mask-watching can be a style parlor game—Mike Pence has been wearing a plain white one—but it can also be an indication of priorities: Donald Trump is still refusing to wear one.
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