Kamala Harris fashion as President
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Anonymous
WTF? When you say "we" do you mean women? Because news flash: people who don't take women seriously aren't sexist because we discuss fashion. Sexists denigrate fashion as an interest because it has been coded as feminine. You'll never win over those people by avoiding the things they make fun of you for. |
Anonymous
Like most of us, sometimes she looks fine and other times she... doesn't. It all depends on the cut of the jacket she happens to be wearing. Some have been hideously boxy. Others are nice. |
Anonymous
+1 Totally different body types than KH though. |
Anonymous
Did you forget about Obama's tan suit? |
Anonymous
I don't think it's flattering but I think it looks kind of cool? |
Anonymous
This one worked for me in some photos and doesn’t work for me in others. Idk, it was something to try I guess. At this point I think I’d rather she just pick one neckline and stick to it. In this photo it’s actually working for me. I just think she has plenty of personality and the clothes can do less. |
Anonymous
Wait women can't be taken seriously if we talk about their clothes? This seems to me an extremely ancient version of feminism, like in the 1980s when working women wore those outfits that looked like men's suits and tried to act like they were men. Welcome to 2024, where women can be powerful AND look great AND don't mind it when people talk about their clothes (and probably want people to notice when they look good?) There's a fine line obviously when people start tearing down women because of their looks, but that's not what OP was starting here. |
Anonymous
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She dresses luke a topical lawyer, keeps it safe and neutral, and doesn’t have a lot of time to think about how it fits.
Her suits are definitely better than Hillary’s, the materials are higher quality and the colors deeper and more sophisticated. That’s about the limit of my interest in her clothes. I want to know if she can keep from staying strange things in public and most importantly if she can use her own judgement while analyzing and enacting policy and negotiating through impasses within her own party and across the aisle. One can do that with a boatneck as well as a waterfall shirt. |
Anonymous
| *like a typical |
Anonymous
1, she isn’t a typical lawyer. She hasn’t been a lawyer in years. She was in the Senate and then at the Naval Observatory. 2, she doesn’t have to think about how it fits, she just has to stand there while they are tailored to her. And that only has to happen once; after that, they know where to take in each suit. |
Anonymous
1, Agreed. I said she dresses like a typical lawyer. Agree that she’s definitely not a typical lawyer! 2, All the better, then! (Not sure I understand your point. I think her clothes fit her fine, or fine enough. They’re not distracting and that’s pretty much all I care about in the presidential nominee, as far as clothes are concerned.) |
Anonymous
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One of my least favorite looks/color/cuts on Kamala Harris.
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Anonymous
LOL Tan suit memories of Obama. But yes, that color is not the best for her. |
Anonymous
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She is really sticking to neutrals so far on the campaign trail -- black and gray and white and tan and beige. It feels very much like a purposeful choice -- she has previously mixed in blues and purples with her campaign clothes.
She also seems to be leaning into slightly more masculine coded clothes. That asymmetric high neck blouse she wore for her first presidential campaign appearance is the most feminine thing she's worn -- everything else has been pretty free of feminine details. Her feminine touch is her jewelry but she has a strict wardrobe for it that's pretty traditional -- classic necklace in pearls or gold and matching earrings. She even eschewed the necklace when she wore the asymmetrical top. The lapel pins are also coded as masculine -- they are like the lapel pins many male politicans wear and do not look like a decorative brooch or a feminine pin. I am curious to see how people respond to this sartorial approach. Other female presidential candidates have embraced color and more feminine details. Even Hilary wore a lot of bright colors on the campaign trail. I think it was viewed as a benefit for women to be able to stand out in that way since men are not "allowed" to wear a red or purple suit. But I guess there's also a risk there that people will reject it as different from what they know -- presidential voting choices tend to be very emotional and almost primal and Hilary's run really revealed how many people (men and women) have some deep-seated misogyny that stokes anger and rejection at feminine coding in a presidential candidate. I think Harris' approach so far has been partly driven by her existing personal style but also there maybe a tactical campaign choice to avoid putting her in anythng that highlights the fact that she's a woman or that she is black (or that she is mixed race for that matter). Obviously people know these things about her but I wonder if they are trying to subtly avoid provoking internalized misogyny by keeping her as neutral and masculine coded as possible. To be clear none of this is judgment (or approval). I am very intersted in fashion as communication and interested in how this translates for trailblazing female candidates. Ignoring fashion because you think it's sexist to discuss a female candidates clothes is ignorant in my opinion. Her fashion will impact her candidacy just like it will impact any man's candidacy. The difference is that male candidates have access to a prescribed uniform for being president and women don't. Discussing fashion and Harris as a candidate is one way of discussing how gender and gender coding impacts this election and Harris' chances and reception by the electorate. It's interesting. If you are intersted in this kind of fashion analysis I highly recommend the book Queen of Fashion: What marie Antoinette wore to the Revolution. There's also a biography of Georgiana the Duchess of Devonshire that incorporates a lot of the same analysis -- women have used fashion and presentationa has political tools for a long time. It's not frivolous BS. Politics is about communication and fashion is a form of communication. |
Anonymous
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PP that's really interesting -- I think you might be right about the affirmative choices and I think it's a little unfortunate. I agree with her advisors that she should stick to conservative, very basic stuff so there's no risk of a major fail (like that HRC yellow tunic pantsuit). But I think she could mix in blue, a purple blazer, a red blazer, and it would give the whole campaign more energy. Part of what she is trying to communicate is energy, and a color could do that if used as a minimal pop -- e.g., a blue suit with just a white shirt. A purple blazer over black pants with a black or white shirt.
She could also borrow some of Nancy P's broaches for her jackets -- Nancy knew how to work a broach! But generally I like KH's jewelry -- keep it simple and classy and not too big or too much. It's feminine and draws the eye but not in a distracting way. I think the chunky gold necklace really makes the tan suit much better than it otherwise would be. |