Internet Sleuth Claims to Out Politician As Secret #Menswear Blogger

This politician's selfies are more dapper than dirty.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Christian Chensvold's Ivy Style blog is a great resource for all things prep. Whether it's finding out a what a rep tie is, paying respects to Bob Newhart's classic geezer steez, and allegedly outing elected officials as preppy #menswear bloggers

Chensvold was informed by a source that he had deduced the identity of the blogger behind a now-inactive site WASP 101, a rather innocuous blog often thought to be a parody by other preppy bloggers, notably because of "the way he objectifies women, is condescending towards working folks, and oh yeah, parades around like a clown," according to this Ivy Style commenter.

WASP 101 is so reviled in the prep blog community that there is an entire, other blog called WASP 101 Sucks. It probably wouldn't be worth batting an eye about except for the fact that it was maybe, possibly being authored by an honest-to-god white, southern Republican politician:

The similarities were discovered as a result of Google-enabled amateur sleuthing and good old Yankee ingenuity, with a more than generous dash of Internet obsession.

Who knew that preppy Internet beef even existed? Isn't WASP culture like, founded on keeping your personal grievances bottled up and swept under a rug, or has everything television taught us about rich white people been a lie?!

WASP 101's author went by "Richard," and regularly posted super boooooring stuff about trousers, Vineyard Vines, red pants, and doled out life advice such as "Marry a really hot girl that makes you happy." The anonymous blogger also attributed the need for tweed jackets to Al Gore's global warming crisis, which makes sense if Holloway was indeed the author, since he is Republican as fuck.

Chensvold tried to get a statement from Holloway regarding the true authorship of the blog today, but this happened instead:

This morning I telephoned Representative Holloway’s office and was informed by a female receptionist that he was in a meeting. I asked to leave a message, and halfway through spelling my last name, was interrupted with, “I know who you are.”

Here's a breakdown of the evidence that point to Holloway being "Richard:"

  • "Richard" resides somewhere in North Carolina, and has clients that are state senators.
  • "Richard" has a dog named Governor, and a similar dog with the same name appears on Holloway's Facebook page.
  • Holloway wore a tan suit in a photo with Newt Gingrich that's strikingly similar to one featured in a WASP 101 blog post. 

But perhaps the most damning thing that didn't even make it in the Ivy Style post?

How about the simple fact that one Googling by Complex found that the "R" in "Bryan R. Holloway" stands for Richard. How do we know? It says so in the metadata of his official photo for the North Carolina General Assembly.

When reached by Complex this afternoon, Rep. Holloway's office didn't immediately respond to a request for quote. We'll update if he does.

Meanwhile, is there anything inherently wrong with Holloway's blog? Certainly not. Politicians have gotten themselves embroiled in much, much worse scandals. Some of his social leanings may alienate voters, sure. But man, in the wake of Barack Obama's #menswear moment, it just would have been cool if Holloway stepped up to the plate and admitted that he, too, is a total and absolute nerd about clothes.

[via Ivy Style]

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