You can be stylish or a patriot ...

But possibly not both. Bear with me, I'll get to the point soon. Seasonal sweaters have always been one of my pet peeves, (along with matching children/mother-daughter outfits, but that's another bloggable moment), and this country does them like no other. And today, the WA Post has a QVC rated- story in their Style section called Rhinestones are a Girl's Best Friend. I'm not kidding. To wit:

Jeanne Bice, maker of sequined Christmas tree sweaters and promoter of year-round good cheer, creates clothes for women who are always celebrating one thing or another, the sort who decorate for Thanksgiving with little Pilgrim salt 'n' peppers.

Bice's zest for life is reflected in her use of rhinestones, which appear on a line of knit tops and stretch leggings that have proved popular on the QVC shopping network. Last year she sold $50 million worth of clothes, and her company is considered one of the network's top apparel lines. On the set of her show recently, Bice is wearing a black top smothered with sequins and a pair of rhinestone candy corn earrings she happens to be selling for Halloween.

First of all, there shouldn't even be a WA Post Style section. I mean, let's consider how the women of DC dress and do their hair. It's certainly a style ... as in, all the same style. Perhaps the newspaper section is a relic from the Kennedy era? Still, in what galaxy are stretch leggings considered stylish? They must be mocking the entrepreneuring lady. I adjusted the sensitivity on my irony meter, but caught not a whiff in the entire article. Although it didn't take the FG to point out the prime market for these singular items:

She says her customers tend to be from the Midwest, like her -- positive, patriotic people, intent on changing "the world one smile at a time."

Patriotic? The FG reserves the right to stand up for those who consider themselves patriotic and know that they don't have to wear blue denim stretch leggings with a rhinestone studded star at the left hem to prove it.