Edwards 'Hot,' Or So Says T-Shirt

Sen. John R. Edwards, D-N.C., can lay claim to many occupations: politician, trial lawyer, Democratic vice presidential nominee.

But sex symbol?

Maya E. Frommer ’07 certainly thinks so, and so, apparently, do a lot of other people.

In her spare time from her summer job at the Nathan Hale Foreign Policy Society, Frommer began to toy with her own t-shirt designs about the Democratic running mate. Her favorite was a simple white t-shirt that proclaims, “John Edwards is Hot,” with a strapping image of the North Carolina senator hand-stenciled in black or navy blue paint on the front.

“Pretty plainly, I think John Edwards is hot,” Frommer said. “I love supporting the Democratic Party. I also like making t-shirts.”

Initially, she somewhat bashfully wore her handiwork around Harvard Square, expecting to attract only embarrassing stares. Instead, she has gotten droves of national media recognition, tickets to the Democratic National Convention and an entrepreneurial gold mine.

“I had no idea. I thought people would make fun of me,” Frommer said. “I had made a bunch of t-shirts, but I guess everyone’s in the political spirit now.”

The response around campus was so encouraging that Frommer began to put up posters around campus advertising sales of the shirt. But the real boost came when she was stopped on the street by Kennedy School of Government resident scholar Peter V. Emerson, a friend of the Edwards family. He complimented her shirt and requested that she make four more—for Edwards, his wife and his two young children.

Frommer was happy to oblige, including a personal letter to the vice presidential nominee in the package.

The next day, Emerson called and offered her two tickets to Wednesday evening’s session of the Democratic National Convention in Boston, highlighted by a speech from none other than John Edwards. Frommer brought along roommate Alexandra C. Stanek ’07, both sporting tight, stomach-bearing versions of the shirt.

“The moment we got through security, people started coming up to us,” Stanek said. “We were constantly bombarded by press.”

The San Francisco Chronicle was the first to interview them, followed by a media onslaught that included MTV News, Rock the Vote, CBS, Air America Radio and papers and television stations from Edwards’ home state of North Carolina. Before the students even made it inside the FleetCenter, they had been videotaped, photographed and quoted several times over. They spent the evening watching the speeches from the upper tier “nosebleed” seats and wandering the concourses, garnering attention and handing out the e-mail address Frommer had set up—edwardsishot@hotmail.com—wherever they went.

The next day, images and references to the shirt appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the MetroWest Daily News.

And, most noticeably, as the lead photo on popular Internet news source The Drudge Report.

Though Frommer was completely unprepared for the shirt’s popularity, she is taking it in stride, cranking out shirts for the more than 30 people who have thus far e-mailed to request them. She charges $12 per shirt, $15 including shipping. So far the consumers have been acquaintances or their friends, but Frommer is doing her best to further publicize her product.

“I went on an instant message blitz, just copying and pasting the newspapers links to everyone I knew,” Frommer said. “I’ve also been keeping track on my blog, but word of mouth has been pretty strong.”

Frommer has also begun to diversify her selection, producing different colored shirts like pink tank tops.

“Pink is a good color, girly,” she said. “It brings a fun side to the issue of politics.”

The production has turned her DeWolfe common room into what her roommates brand a “sweatshop,” but fellow model Stanek remains primarily amused by the attention, if not truly committed to the cause.

“I don’t actually think he’s hot,” Stanek admitted. “I’m just supporting Maya, and I’m supporting the campaign. But I don’t think he’s hot because I don’t like 50-year-old men.”

Frommer has not yet heard back from the Edwards family about the shirts she sent. If nothing else, the object of the shirt himself might appreciate the timing of the gift—he and his wife celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary today.

Elizabeth Edwards, however, might not be too pleased about the sudden competition.

—Staff writer Lisa J. Kennelly can be reached at kennell@fas.harvard.edu.