All of this campaign swag was terrible, and consequently it was great. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m a ’90s kid, but these strike as the perfect version of the campaign logo. In 2000, the Bush-Cheney campaign went with big blocky letters, and then just re-used that look in 2004.

The 2000 Gore-Lieberman logo, with its period-piece swoop, ripped right from the Ameritech logo, screams “early dot-com boom.”

Needless to say, no one would ever to think to turn these into “nice” clothing. The swag for lower-level campaigns is often even worse, with awful graphic design printed on day-glo green, bright white, and mustard yellow. (Just look at this!) The point of these garments is not to look good. It’s to imprint a candidate’s name as memorably and bluntly as possible. These are functional items, not formal ones, and certainly not flattering ones.

Do you ever see anyone wearing such shirts out on the street? Of course not. Sure, sometimes you’ll see someone wearing a Reagan-Bush shirt, or even a Mondale-Ferraro shirt, but that’s because they’ve become ironic retro-chic, not because they’re cool. By the second week of November, the ideal campaign shirt is packed away in permanent storage, tossed into a Planet Aid clothes bin, or relegated to workout-wear status. If your candidate won, then you don’t need to brag; if your candidate lost, why would you want to advertise your affiliation?

Where did everything go wrong? It’s yet another excuse to say: Thanks, Obama. During the 2008 primary, Hillary Clinton went with a classic bland logo, all flag motifs and red, white, and blue. The Obama campaign, both fostering and recognizing its candidate’s special appeal, crafted one of the best and most distinctive political logos in history. (John McCain, in contrast, went with a totally forgettable design, sans-serif type in, for some reason, blue, yellow, and white.) For younger voters, backing Barack Obama became more than just a statement of political support; it was an aesthetic and social choice. As a result, wearing the Obama logo became not just a political statement but a fashion one.

Jason Reed / Reuters

Once the election was over, the swag didn’t go away. Obama gear remained popular among young white liberals and older black ones, too. Obama also worked to create ties with the fashion industry, producing things like a Tory Burch special edition inauguration tote. And now we have Hillary Clinton, a candidate who is looking to succeed Obama, taking on his mantle. Possibly literally. Something tasteful, in solid colors, but with a nice cut. Maybe by Ralph Lauren.

Rick Wilking / Reuters

That brings us to Donald Trump. Whatever else he has done to erode the important norms of American democracy and society, Trump has upheld the traditional values of campaign swag. Consider the Make America Great Again hat. The classic version came in just two colors: blue on white, and white on red. (Others, like orange on camo, have since been added.) They’re not good hats: With their high crowns, pointy corners, and most of all that cheesy braid along the brim, they look like something you found stashed in the back of your grandfather’s closet. They don’t look good on anyone, and they particularly look ridiculous on Trump, who insists on donning them over his majestic coif, paired with a dark suit. In short, the Trump hat is a perfect piece of campaign gear. He has made swag great again.