Georgia’s Senate race got an unusual kind of scrutiny this week: a close look at the candidates’ trousers, from behind.
Derek Guy, a menswear writer and editor at Put This On whose bylines include The New York Times, Bloomberg and Esquire, posted a lengthy thread on X using Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and his Republican challenger, Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.), to explain two common fit problems. The thread has been viewed more than 1.9 million times as of the time of writing.
“The Senate race between Jon Ossoff and Mike Collins gives us good material to illustrate two common problems with men’s trousers, which most people miss when shopping,” Guy wrote. “Let me show you.”
Ossoff’s pants look clean from the front, Guy said, with “no wrinkles or rippling.” The back is another story.
“The size of his derrière is causing the back pocket to gape,” Guy wrote. He called it “a recurring problem for Ossoff,” and said it suggests “his backside is larger and rounder than what most brands account for in their trouser patterns.”
His fix: trousers “with more room in the seat and possibly a longer back rise so he has more material to drape over his tush.”
Collins, Guy said, “has the opposite problem.”
“Since his backside is relatively flat, the trousers are too full in the seat. They are not built for his figure,” he wrote. “As such, excess material collapses around his buttocks. The result can look like a diaper.”
The good news for Collins is that his problem is “much easier” to fix, according to Guy. A tailor can take in the excess fabric if the pants have enough seam allowance, he explained, adding, “Cheap pants typically don’t have much inlay.” He showed a before-and-after alteration with the caption, “No more diaper butt.”
Guy closed by saying he wasn’t trying to embarrass anyone.
“Everyone is shaped differently, so you will have to identify your particular fit challenges and find ways to solve them,” he wrote. “As usual, this thread is not meant to body shame anyone — only give some tips on what to look for when shopping.”
The thread is the latest political wardrobe critique from Guy, who has 1.5 million followers on X. He recently called Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s conference outfit “undignified.”
Ossoff and Collins face off Tuesday in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.