Sweat shirts CLOTHING
By Julia Boorstin

(FORTUNE Magazine) – There's nothing less presidential than sweaty pits. Or at least that's what Dockers figured when it launched its Perspiration Guard shirt in August, proclaiming itself the campaigns' unofficial shirt sponsor. "We want Bush and Kerry to know they don't have to sweat the election, despite all the coverage showing their pit stains," says Kris Tulin, head of Dockers Advanced Innovation. The Levi Strauss subsidiary sent a dozen shirts, which retail for $50 at J.C. Penney and May Department Stores, to each candidate to avert future, ahem, pitfalls.

Dockers says it uses nanotechnology to dry moisture six to eight times faster than normal, and also employs Refresh Action antimicrobial technology to minimize odor.

Donning the shirt on a humid New York City afternoon in late August, FORTUNE's tester found it to be heavier and scratchier than a typical dress shirt. Still, it got a thumbs-up. "The shirt gets wet, but the sweat doesn't show," he reported. Meaning this button-down ensures you won't break the first rule of politics: Never let 'em see you sweat. --Julia Boorstin