The Ohio Respresentative fashion file

Best Dressed: Dorothy Pelanda

The elegant Republican state rep from Marysville stands out in the drably attired Statehouse. When many of her male colleagues sport golf shirts and khakis, you can count on Pelanda to dress to the nines, looking sharp in her collection of stylish business suits. Pelanda, however, did face some competition from Sen. John Eklund, who finished a close second in our survey. With his horn rims, cufflinks, slicked-back hair and expensive suits, the Republican from Geauga County always looks like he stepped off the set of Mad Men.

Worst Dressed: Terry Boose

Yes, the rumpled Boose occasionally wears loud ties, and his suits are sometimes ill-fitting. But the Republican state rep from Huron County is hardly the only offender at the Statehouse, and plenty of his fellow legislators were just as deserving of our survey's worst-dressed dishonor. Like everywhere else, fashion in the legislature has suffered as society has grown more casual. But one lobbyist has another culprit. "Part of that is term limits," he says. Really? Term limits get blamed for lots of stuff at the Statehouse, but lousy clothing is a new one. "You used to have a lot more professionals in the General Assembly," the lobbyist explains. "Because of term limits, you've got fewer professionals, and you got people who just don't dress as nice."

Another political insider points out the hypocrisy of our survey. "It's pretty outrageous for a journalist to write stories about who's the worst dressed," he says. "If we had to find a profession that's the worst dressed, that's the one."

Touché.