Styling the Modern Democrat
Vice President Kamala Harris in Pyer Moss, 2021.
On the eve of her Inauguration, Vice President Kamala Harris was photographed at a COVID-19 memorial at the National Mall, wearing Pyer Moss. The symbolism here is thick, in a tasteful way; Kerby Jean-Raymond, the designer behind Pyer Moss, is a Haitian-American designer who was one of fashion’s most adaptive figures to the pandemic, donating $5000 worth of PPE and turning the brand’s headquarters into a donation center for frontline workers. She’s also notorious for her Converse Chuck Taylor Lows, which has the dual functionality of comfort and vaguely presenting her as the champion of the working people’s (alleged) political party. It’s a different form of fashion-as-camouflage. It’s the oldest play in the political fashion playbook, yet we still fall for it every single time.
The first time I became aware of this phenomena was in the case of President Obama’s custom “44” Rag & Bone bomber jacket, worn while attending a Duke Men’s Basketball game in 2019. Why was a former president’s outerwear choice a bigger storyline than the players in one of college basketball’s most storied rivalries? Or we have the fascination over Obama’s Dad jeans, which reads as an attempt to portray the President as an everyday man (this isn’t even remotely close to a new idea; every president from Washington to Bush has attempted something similar). The more time we spend discussing his clothing, the more we rewrite and whitewash his legacy, and thus move further away from the less-than-glamorous aspects of his presidency: the drone strikes of civilians in Yemen, his drastic expansion of deportation, and his ultimate unwillingness to push harder for Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
Nancy Pelosi wore the same dress both times she voted to impeach President Trump, which much like her sarcastic clapping at President Trump in 2019, was well documented, and ultimately meaningless. This is, of course, the same Speaker of the House who said that $600 stimulus checks are “significant,” and opposes Medicare-for-all.
Of course, constantly obsessing over Vice President Harris’s outfits or Speaker Pelosi’s dresses is partially rooted in misogyny — we allow President Biden or Trump the freedom to govern and operate (for better or worse) without paying significant attention to their clothing, after all. Harris’s outfits are often juxtaposed alongside Melania Trump’s “I really don’t care, do u?” coat, despite the fact that Harris is a legitimate elected official with executive duties and not our First Lady.
The fundamental problem with reporting on this is that when it comes to Kamala Harris, her fashion is also empowerment. Still though, she’s a politician, and should be judged on the merits of her policies, as any male politician undoubtedly would be judged. This, though, is what makes style an important part of the liberal playbook; it serves as a distraction from the fact that the Democratic party at large is incapable of passing legislation that will tangibly benefit the majority of Americans.
Kamala Harris shares a stylist with Justin Bieber. There’s a fine line here that I’m not sure the Democratic party is properly balancing. On one hand, Vice President Harris would undoubtedly face criticism if her outfits were poorly constructed; at the same time, you wouldn’t specifically hire a celebrity stylist if you weren’t intending on some form of showmanship with your outfits. It’s the modern form of bread and circuses, nothing more than a distraction from our declining empire.
The progressive wing of the party isn’t exempt from this criticism either; Bernie Sanders’s anorak and mittens at Joe Biden’s inauguration became a bigger story than any of Biden’s first 100 days policies. And prior to that, I spent more time researching why Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decided to wear Aliétte in her Vanity Fair cover than I’ve spent researching the Green New Deal. But when you treat politics as a game, you’re forced to defend your “team” and your favorite players from criticism.
The real issue lies in how liberals view their elected officials. Are they celebrities? Are they people you elect and put on a pedestal because of their history and title? Do you bow down to them, or do they answer to you? Are they direct representatives who are meant to operate on your behalf? I say all of this because there’s so much tangible good with Kamala Harris to focus on — her support of Medicare-for-all and the Green New Deal, as well as her constant evolution with policies from her time as a prosecutor — that there’s no need to celebrate her in the same way you would a Hollywood celebrity.