The Bland Shoe Trend That's Taking MAGA Women By Storm (& We're Begging For A Style Upgrade)

The GOP has embraced the commanding color red since the heyday of Reaganism, a color choice as unsubtle as the politics it came to represent. But in the hands (and heels) of the party's leading ladies, that once-triumphant hue has curdled into something more symbolic. Today's MAGA women appear to have taken the theme to heart, styling themselves in looks that scream "red flag."

Much has already been said about the right's universal aesthetic choices. Across the board, the Trump family women remain committed to a vision of femininity defined by outdated trends they won't ever give up. Then there's "Republican makeup," visible in Karoline Leavitt's biggest makeup mistakes and echoed by her ideological peers. And who could forget Mar-a-Lago face, the plastic surgery trend defined by startling veneers, exaggerated filler, and heavy-handed botox?

Now, attention turns downwards — to the feet, where yet another hegemonic pattern reveals itself. The nude pointed-toe heel has become a staple among MAGA women, worn with near-comic consistency by all the major players. Is this ubiquity merely a matter of questionable taste? Google Trends shows searches for the shoe began rising in 2008, peaked around 2012, and have declined steadily ever since. Like many of the aesthetic choices favored on the far right, the shoe feels stuck in a bygone era. At the very least, it reflects a preference for past over present. 

But there may be more to it than nostalgia. In a movement where deviation invites suspicion, conformity becomes the uniform. Perhaps this visual order isn't incidental, but a reflection of a worldview that valorizes sameness and discipline from its women. In any case, these looks could use a serious upgrade.

Kicking off 2025's month of May, Dana Perino welcomed Karoline Leavitt for a Fox News segment reflecting on life behind the White House podium. Flanked by GOP communications staffers Kate DePetro and Kieghan Nangle, the group posed in a backstage corridor, boasting an unsettling aesthetic harmony. With four out of four in the classic nude pointed-toe pump, they looked ready to be summoned to a tribunal on beige authoritarianism.

Standing behind the Capitol dome, with weather cooperative and messaging tighter still, Florida's Ashley Moody and Alabama's Katie Britt presented a unified aesthetic as they readied for their close-up on "My View with Lara Trump." Each pair of legs were tapered to the same nude heel. How little room their fashion leaves for anything else.

The party algorithm strikes again. This time, with Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Sanders is no stranger to many fashion fails that prove she needs a new stylist, she arrived to accept her "Arkansan of the Year" award in a red cocktail dress and, inevitably, a pair of nude pointed-toe pumps. The riverside setting offered an opportunity for a fresh silhouette or a small break from the visual uniformity that defines so many Republican women in the public eye. Instead, the look held fast to the template.

It was another day, another nude heel for Kimberly Guilfoyle at the White House's Greek Independence Day celebration in March 2025. She appeared in a red suit and her usual distended glam, the pumps locking the image into place. It followed the blueprint she gives no inclination of changing.