Clothing says a lot about the wearer. People’s careers have been made, or killed, by the clothes they wear. Clothes are especially important to politicians. Countless magazines had articles dedicated to the late Queen Elizabeth’s jewelry; one such article comes to mind. In 2018, Former President Donald Trump visited Queen Elizabeth in London. Throughout his several days long visit, Queen Elizabeth wore the teardrop brooch that her mother wore at the funeral of King George VI, Queen Elizabeth’s father. She additionally wore a brooch gifted to her by the Obamas. Both breaches seem to have been used to send a message of mourning the end of Obama’s presidency. Not all politicians are able to create such comprehensive and informative ensembles, but every outfit has meaning. So what did Harris and Trump do?
Men have participated in the American government since its founding. In addition, the men’s suit has not evolved as rapidly as women’s fashion. Because of this, there is essentially a uniform for male politicians. The dark blue, occasionally black, suit is worn by almost all male politicians. The variation, however, comes with the tie. Most male politicians, including Trump, wear either a red or blue neck tie. Trump has been prone to wear red more often than blue; to bring color psychology, red commands power and attention whereas blue is seen to bring professionalism and calm. The necktie wasn’t the only variation in Trump’s campaign uniform this election season. At a rally in Wisconsin, Trump swamped his blue suit jacket for a bright orange utility vest, or as he called it a “garbage vest”. This outfit piece was a clear response to Biden’s alleged remark that Trump supporters are “garbage”. No presidential candidate has ever addressed comments in such a bold way using clothing. Trump’s vest was a bold tactic that changed the game in campaign clothes.
Harris faced a more serious issue when it came to what to wear on the campaign trail. She is the second of only two female presidential nominees of the two major parties. Harris had barely a decade of women in politics to look to when deciding on her campaign uniform, and only one other who ran for president. Harris, like Clinton, chose to wear pants. Many women in the Senate and the House of Representatives choose to wear skirts, especially in the Southern states. However, pants put female politicians on visually equal footing as their male opponents. Harris wore a dress for only one night, at a conference on September 14th at which she donned a sequin black gown. Clothing is a costly game for women in politics; Harris could not be seen as too radical, or too submissive. In order to achieve equilibrium, she compromised on her outfit. While Harris did wear pants for almost the entirety of her campaign, she did not once wear a tie. Instead, Harris elected to wear necklaces or a style of bow known as lavalliere. The tie she lacked was the invisible line Harris drew so that she did not appear “too” progressive.
This campaign season has brought changes to the political fashion game, with iconic moments from both candidates. From Harris’ sequin gown to Trump’s orange utility vest, the campaign looks have evolved more rapidly than any other election season.
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