The styles of women in key and powerful positions are always analysed in detail, something that doesn't always happen to men in the same (or even in more powerful) jobs. So, throughout history we learnt to dissect the messages behind Jackie Kennedy's wardrobe, or analyse the creations by the designers favoured by Michelle Obama. We have also learnt to interpret signals and symbolisms behind certain accessories – think for example about Madeleine Albright's pins (that ended up deserving a book and an exhibition) or U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's collars.
U.S. Democratic Senator from California Kamala Harris, who favours a casual style and usually wears pantsuits with sneakers, joins today this list after Joe Biden (to be formally nominated as the presidential candidate for his party at the Democratic national convention next week) announced today she will be his running mate.
Joe Biden shared the news writing on Twitter: "I have the great honor to announce that I've picked @KamalaHarris - a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country's finest public servants - as my running mate."
You may argue that her appointment is not without controversy: Harris' presidential campaign was marred by factional fights between her divided staff, but also revealed structural issues. But Harris was also criticised for her political tactics and in particular for not choosing between liberals and moderates in the Democratic party; for her shifts in fights (from a tax cut for lower and middle-income voters to a pay raise for teachers) and for her indecision when it came to her position on healthcare (first supporting Sanders's Medicare for All bill against private healthcare, but then unveiling a plan that allowed private insurers to remain).
Last but not least, Harris recently showed interest on police misconduct, but in the past when she was attorney general, she avoided intervening in cases that regarded killings by the police, or seemed to maintain a cautious stance when it came to police violence.
Yet since then she seems to have changed (but, you may argue, America has changed as well...) moving towards a reform of the police six years ago when Michael Brown was killed by a police officer (an event that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement). Her interest in racial justice, police brutality and misconduct and criminal justice reform continued to grow and became more prominent after the murder in May of George Floyd. Her activism has made her more acceptable to those progressives who criticised her for being a centrist and a moderate.
The announcement was met with surprise by current US President Donald Trump, who called Harris "nasty" (in particular towards US Supreme Court Justice Kanavaugh accused in 2018 of sexual assault...), but the vice presidential nominee got a lot of support messages on social media from ordinary people, politicians and celebrities as well.
She was praised also by Biden's former rivals, senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, while former US President Barack Obama tweeted, "I've known Senator @KamalaHarris for a long time. She is more than prepared for the job. She's spent her career defending our Constitution and fighting for folks who need a fair shake. This is a good day for our country. Now let's go win this thing."
The news about Harris being Biden's running mate were considered as a beacon of hope, inspiring for all women and in particular for the Black community. Harris is indeed the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants and she is the first Black woman and the first woman of Asian descent to be nominated for the position of Vice President on a major party ticket. Harris' candidacy is also groundbreaking as she is the second woman up for the job in 40 years, the first one was indeed Geraldine Ferraro, who was on the ticket with Walter Mondale in 1984. Choosing her means that Joe Biden acknowledges the fact that the Democrats need Black voters to win the White House and finally solve all the key issue Trump doesn't care about, from the Coronavirus pandemic to systemic racism, financial inequality, the struggling economy and the climate crisis.
Harris has the potential to stand up to Trump, since she is not intimidated by men like him (in 2019 she stated Trump reminded her of "that guy" in The Wizard of Oz, "when you pull back the curtain, it's a really small dude"). Harris' sharp prosecutorial skills and spontaneity, her manner with voters and that fierceness that she probably learnt from her times as a district attorney and attorney general, are definitely her strengths. Her tenacy and toughness genuinely seem to scare Trump who, as stated above, dubbed her "nasty" during a press conference, filing her under "the radical left" category that scares Republicans so much.
Yet there is no sign of "nastiness" in Harris' look, a sort of uniform consisting in a pantsuit (or jeans and T-shirts with a blazer) often matched with sneakers, maybe a symbol of her dynamic approach to life and hinting at the fact that she would like to walk side by side with other people rather than rule them from above.
In interviews she often professed her love for Converse shoes, admitting she owns several pair of the popular sneaker and she has been emphasising the role of her shoes in her Tweets since 2016 when, on Election Day, she posted a picture of her feet stating "Got my comfy shoes on & ready to hit the ground to turn out the vote".
Harris often wears necklaces, mainly pearl ones and in June we saw her wearing another accessory, a kente cloth scarf, when Democratic lawmakers in US Congress took a knee in a tribute to George Floyd at Capitol's Emancipation Hall before presenting legislation to end excessive use of force by police across the States.
Harris is obviously not the first influential woman who prefers trousers to skirts and dresses, but her sneakers represent a different style choice compared to Hillary Clinton who has a passion for pantsuits as well, but tends to make them look more formal, matching them with feminine shoes. Harris' informal style choice definitely strikes a chord with ordinary people, but also embodies the dynamic qualities of casual American style. Her style also symbolises a transition, a shift from white man's America to a multi-cultural country in which the American dream is still possible.
So could Harris' pantsuits and sneakers be a sign of change too for the United States? Well, it would be superficial to bet just on Harris' sneakers and reductive and offensive to talk about her views and politics through her wardrobe. But, for the time being, let's hope that Biden and Harris will put an end to the American nightmare of a presidency steeped in arrogance and hate with their political agenda, and, well why not, with a little help from the humble sneaker.
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