Kamala Harris, soon to be Madam Vice President, was out for a run when the news broke at 11:25 am this morning that the Associated Press officially called the US presidential election for the Biden/Harris ticket. When she heard the news, the Vice President-elect called the President-elect.
The nation’s first female, first Black, and first South Asian vice president-elect, was in a Nike Half-Zip Top, running tights, and sunglasses when she called her running mate. Sister Maya Harris shared another photo of the Vice President-elect on this historic day.
This evening the duo returned to the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, where Ms. Harris spoke before introducing Mr. Biden.
This video provides a better view of the ensemble.
The color made perfect sense. White has long been associated with the women’s suffrage movement. This year is the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment giving some women the right to vote.
More from Errin Haines, writing in The 19th:
In an emotional speech introducing Biden, a beaming Harris took the podium on Saturday night wearing all white in a nod to the suffrage movement and the historic moment she now steps into.
More about the suffrage movement and the color white from this Teen Vogue piece by Laura Pitcher. (The individual referenced below is Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, a Case Western Reserve University history professor.)
A lingering symbol of the movement is white clothing.
Part of the reason why the color white stuck as the core color associated with the movement is that the photographic evidence from that period is in black and white, says Rabinovitch-Fox.
It was mainly white women who won the right to vote in 1919, with women of color forced to wait nearly 50 extra years after the passage of the 19th Amendment to gain voting access. Today, women continue to wear the color to pay tribute to the suffragists and show sisterhood and solidarity.
Glenda Tinnin, one of the organizers of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, said, “An idea that is driven home to the mind through the eye, produces a more striking and lasting impression than any that goes through the ear.”
Below, women from both parties wearing white in honor of the movement at last year’s State of the Union speech.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnother view of Ms. Harris tonight.
The Vice President-elect has worn white on other key occasions. Below, taking the stage at the 2012 Democratic convention, when she was California’s Attorney General.
Tonight’s suit was by Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera, with thanks to Lauren Sherman, Claire Sulmers, and Booth Moore for that information.
Below, the Tapered Double-Faced Stretch-Wool Blazer ($2290) and Double-Faced Stretch Wool Straight Legged Trousers ($990). The blazer has a fitted silhouette with flap pockets and single button closure. The trousers have a high waist, pockets, and a straight cut.
Both designs are a blend of 93% virgin wool, 4% elastane for stretch, and 3% nylon. The label’s creative director, Wes Gordon says “Every time I see this suit, I think of the last scene of ‘The First Wives Club’.” There are slight differences between the ready to wear blazer and Ms. Harris’s version: she has one button at the cuff instead of three, and her jacket uses standard button instead of the shank style seen in the product shots.
The pieces are from the Resort ’21 collection. More about Wes Gordon’s vision for the collection via this Vogue story from Nicole Phelps.
The COVID-19-time concessions Gordon’s made are oriented more toward the way the company does business than the pieces he designs. Resort, for example, is half the size it was in the Before Times, and going forward the brand is organizing pre-collections and runway collections into “super seasons,” the better to “evolve and carry forward the work and create things with longevity.”
Below, Ms. Harris with her two grand-nieces in a photo shared by her niece, Meena Harris.
Beneath the blazer the Vice President-elect wore an ivory pussy-bow blouse, a fashion item with its own recent history of symbolism. It is a popular contemporary design and a style Ms. Harris wears frequently. It could be a piece she has owned for some time, or it could be a current-season piece, like this Tom Ford design.
(This is not to say she is wearing this blouse; it is merely a current-season design similar to that worn tonight.) UPDATE: It’s been reported Ms. Harris wore a Tory Burch design, the brand’s silk Tie Neck Blouse ($398). The piece features a concealed front placket, barrel cuffs, and distinctive bow. I have not been able to confirm the information.
The ensemble photographed well. Below, the Vice President-elect and husband Doug Emhoff.
Here you see how well the light color stood out on the stage.
Ms. Harris accessorized with a pair of dark salmon patent pumps that are not yet identified. She also wore her mabé pearl earrings, signature bracelets, and what looked like her Cartier wristwatch.
Here is the speech in its entirety.
Sasha Charnin Morrison says
I told Booth.??? ? but it was thru Claire Sumners from fashionbombdaily.com who I got the details from. I would post her, as well? #blackownedbusiness
Susan Kelley says
Hi, Sasha, thanks so much for the heads-up! (Post is updated.) 🙂
Karin Lowenthal says
Awesome!! Thank you. ….about the suit ?. There’s no way that thing was tailored for her, ya think? The jacket looked 2 sizes too large …. Maybe her first choice suit got tomato soup on it??
Michelle says
Wow…I thought it was perfection.
Kristin Markert says
I love her!
andrea says
Someone get her a good tailor! I thought it was a Norma Kamali from the ’80’s.
Having my Parson’s students on it-
Jean says
I am so happy to have Kamala in the position of Vice-President but dressing well goes with the territory.
She was chic when she worked in San Francisco. I don’t know what has happened but the white
pants suit was a disaster. She looks much better in skirt suits. She should hire someone to select her clothes
or find a good designer to work with her. We all want to be proud of her!