This article originally appeared on Vogue Business.
My reply: Well, shes not a pop star!
Are we scrutinizing her choices more because shes a woman?
Vice President Kamala Harris exits Air Force Two as she arrives for a speech and press announcement on August 16, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Vice President Kamala Harris at the DNC last night in a Chloe suit and blouse.
You really do care, dont you?
(Dare I invoke the infamous wordsI really dont care, do u?)
Vice President Kamala Harris at the DNC last night in a Chloé suit and blouse.
This pressure is immeasurable and perhaps unfair, but it is inextricable from her role.
(Donald Trumps ill-fitting suits and too-long ties say something about the country too.)
Fashion diplomacy
Harris speaks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention wearing a Chloe suit.
Harris speaks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention wearing a Chloé suit.
These were all savvy fashion-diplomacy moves that accrued good press.
The designers are all US-based and, for the most part, run independent businesses.
There is an argument to be made that Harris should focus her sartorial efforts on American designers.
That would perhaps be the case if fashion, and fashion diplomacy, were her focus or her metier.
But here Harris is making a case for putting style over label.
By cutting out the identity politics from her sartorial choices, she is doing away with the newsiness altogether.
Its a subtle yet significant change in strategy.
The message seems to be that the Harris camps priority is projecting an image of polish.
A former fashion professor would often point out that good design is invisible but bad design is jarring.
Personal style in this case follows a similar logic.
That is the point.
Or their custom tailoring, for that matter.
What I do recall is the controversy around both ClintonsArmani jacketand Sarah Palins$150,000 wardrobe overhaulback in 2008.
To not take that into consideration would render any critique or praise of her style futile.
