Kamala Harris has a uniform. Most days, you’ll discover her in a boxy, broad-shouldered swimsuit that mirrors the one worn by her opponent.
Her sartorial alternative is smart. Harris is auditioning for a job that has been held for the previous 248 years by 44 white males and one Black man. All of those presidents spent their days in prim, darkish fits—the garment Western males have worn for hundreds of years to venture energy and respectability.
Over the previous decade, ladies vying for the presidency have overwhelmingly chosen to co-opt the swimsuit. But when Harris wins the election and turns into the nation’s first-ever lady president, she’ll be ready to radically remodel our collective creativeness of what energy can appear like. After all, as a lady of South Asian and Jamaican descent, her face alone will stand aside from all the boys who got here earlier than her. However she will even have the chance to make use of clothes strategically to emphasise different features of her identification. She might, if she wished, present up in garments that venture much more femininity and even mirror the cultures of her immigrant dad and mom.
Whereas Harris’s trend selections may appear insignificant at a time when the way forward for democracy is at stake, visuals matter mightily in politics. The picture of energy she tasks might assist rewrite the norms about who’s allowed to ascend into excessive workplace on this nation. And she or he might assist clear the trail for different minorities, making them extra electable in years to come back.
Hillary and Her Rainbow-Coloured Fits
Earlier than Harris, the closest any lady got here to the presidency was Hillary Clinton. And Clinton did an important deal to push the boundaries of what political ladies might put on.
Within the ’80s, as ladies have been starting to enter the workforce in massive numbers, many selected to put on the “energy swimsuit” with exaggerated shoulder pads. By carrying what had been a historically male garment, ladies have been telegraphing that they may tackle traditionally male jobs and serve the position of breadwinner.
And but, ladies within the political area nonetheless felt stress to put on skirts. All through the ’80s, feminine lawmakers who dared to put on pants on the ground have been typically castigated for not sticking to the unstated gown code. Through the years when Clinton was supporting her husband’s marketing campaign for the White Home after which his presidency, she typically wore female-coded outfits, like clothes and headbands.
It wasn’t till 1993 {that a} trio of feminine senators—Barbara Mikulski, Nancy Kassebaum and Carol Moseley Braun—collectively defied the gown code by carrying trousers on the Senate flooring. This prompted Congress to create an official information that allowed ladies to put on “coordinated pantsuits” for the primary time.
A decade later, within the early 2000s, Clinton started to tackle political positions of her personal, first as Senator in 2001 after which as Secretary of State in 2009. In these new roles, she was instrumental in shaping the way in which a lady in energy might look. Clinton turned well-known for carrying boxy pantsuits. At first, she caught with darkish stable colours, like black and blue, permitting her to slot in seamlessly within the rooms stuffed with males carrying comparable outfits.
This was a strategic transfer. In her many years within the public eye, the media continually dissected her clothes selections, typically unkindly. However by carrying the an identical outfit as her male counterparts, she shut down a lot of this gossip, permitting the media to deal with her abilities and coverage selections.
However then, within the 2010s, Clinton appeared to make the deliberate resolution to transcend the darkish swimsuit. She started displaying up in fits that had extra texture and colour. She confirmed up on the United Nations in 2012 and the Council on Foreign Relations in 2013 carrying tweed fits that took a web page from Chanel. In 2013, the day President Barack Obama signed a presidential memo Clinton had helped draft that promoted the empowerment of girls and ladies globally, she was beside him, carrying a textured swimsuit in a brilliant shade of teal.
This new sartorial course appeared designed to counsel a distinction between Clinton and the boys in her political orbit who largely wore darkish fits. (Certainly, when Obama wore a tan suit to a press convention in 2014, it prompted a stir, with Republicans calling him “unpresidential.” He rapidly reverted to carrying darkish fits.) Clinton was subtly reintroducing femininity and self-expression into her clothes, making the case that girls can present up in positions of energy as themselves. They didn’t must cosplay male politicians.
By the point Clinton was operating in opposition to Trump in 2016, she was well-known for her rainbow of pantsuits. In side-by-side photos of the 2 candidates, Clinton’s garments have been distinctly brighter and extra colourful, generally veering into pinks and yellows. She typically accessorized with daring earrings and scarves. Clinton didn’t need voters to disregard her gender; she invited them to embrace it. The one downside was, she didn’t win.
Can Harris Rewrite the Playbook Once more?
That is the sartorial universe that Harris steps into because the presumptive Democratic candidate for President. The present era of feminine up-and-comers within the Democratic social gathering—together with Gretchen Whitmer and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—have all taken a web page from Clinton’s trend playbook of colourful, textured fits. Harris is not any exception.
Harris has embraced the pantsuit, however she additionally opts for extra colour than males are inclined to put on. At latest rallies in Atlanta and Philadelphia, she wore a light-weight blue swimsuit. In Dallas, she wore a pink suit to talk with sorority sisters. Even when she wears dark suits, she accessorizes with pearls. The purpose is to not ignore the truth that she’s a lady. The purpose is to persuade America {that a} lady can govern.
The query behind this complete marketing campaign whether or not Individuals are prepared for a feminine president. There’s motive to consider issues might go in another way for Harris than they did for Clinton in 2015. The nation has developed over the past decade. Many younger voters and feminine voters are enthusiastic about being a part of the motion to elect a lady to the White Home.
If Harris does turn out to be President, she shall be ready to rewrite the playbook for ladies in energy. Clinton labored exhausting to seek out methods to deliver her persona into her clothes selections, with out going past the boundaries of what most Individuals would think about presidential. If she wished, Harris might push these limits even additional.
Over time, we’ve seen glimpses of Harris doing this. She loves Converse sneakers, which she’s worn consistently over the years, paired with skinny trousers and a blazer. In 2019, she had an iconic trend second when she confirmed up on the San Francisco pleasure parade carrying a bedazzled Levi’s jean jacket with a rainbow on it. She’s identified for selecting fashionable sun shades, from Biden-style aviators to fabulous yellow rimmed frames.
Think about what else she might deliver to her look when the election is behind her. When she stops worrying about profitable over voters, she might flip her consideration to serving to Individuals rethink what energy seems like. Maybe she might pay homage to the cultures of her dad and mom. Think about if Harris confirmed up in the future in a swimsuit product of sari material, or a shawl product of Caribbean textiles? This is able to be greater than only a type of self-expression. It could be a testomony to America’s boundless alternative {that a} little one of immigrants might ascend into the best workplace of the land.