Kamala Harris Outfits That Meant More Than You Ever Realized

Kamala Harris may have lost her bid for U.S. president, but she'll always be remembered for how hard she fought and the class she brought to every one of her appearances. Unlike her opposition, Harris was intentional in not only what she had to say, but how she presented herself. In other words, Harris's outfits weren't just strategic during her campaign, but were also meant to send a message, even if not everyone was aware that that's what she was doing at the time.

"How you present yourself as a woman in leadership is an issue every woman in leadership has to consider," chief executive of Watering Hole Media and a former Biden-Harris campaign adviser, Ashley Allison, told The New York Times in November 2024. "[Harris] is trying to break what is potentially the biggest, thickest, largest glass ceiling there is." Because of this, Harris and her team paid special attention to not just what colors she wore to specific events, but smaller details like designs and accessories.

While there have been plenty of times Harris ditched her go-to pantsuit for something fresh, when she was on the campaign trail, she stuck to looks that had a lot to say. Although these days, Harris has been opting for more relaxed, less intentional ensembles, it's still worth diving into what she wore back in 2024. After all, if we're lucky, she'll throw her hat in the ring and run for president again, and the messaging in her outfits is something we should all be aware of.

Although pussy bow blouses have been around for decades, with both Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent popularizing them in their collections, it wasn't until the 1980s that they took on a different meaning. As more women entered the workforce, they adopted the pussy bow as an equivalent to the ties that men wore in the office. But in 2016, the pussy bow became political after the release of Trump's "grab 'em by the pussy" audio, and feminists decided "pussy grabs back." Suddenly, it was no longer a bow, but a statement. As an ardent supporter of women's rights, Kamala Harris wore the pussy bow quite a bit. It's a middle finger to Trump and anyone else who eschews bodily autonomy.

When she gave her victory speech in November 2020, after she and Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump, Kamala Harris wore a white pantsuit — with a pussy bow, of course. In the political realm, the color white has become synonymous with paying homage to the women suffragists who fought for our right to vote. While many female politicians have worn white on several occasions for this very reason, including Hillary Clinton when she debated Trump in October 2016, and the dozens of Democratic women who wore the color for Trump's 2019 State of the Union address, Harris's wearing white for this moment is absolutely iconic behavior.

While some struggle to wear pearls without looking stuffy, Kamala Harris has mastered the look. Although pearls can elevate any outfit, that's not the only reason Harris wears them so often. As a student at Howard University, Harris was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. As the first African American sorority in the U.S., the founders are referred to as the "Twenty Pearls," and each new member receives a badge with 20 pearls on it. "The strand of pearls speaks to solidarity among the members," international president of AKA, Glenda Glover, told Vanity Fair in August 2020. "It's a great moment for AKA. For African Americans. For women. Whether she wears pearls or not, it's an inspiration."

When Kamala Harris debated Trump for the first time, she didn't just bring her A-game, but she looked confident, fierce, and ready to annihilate the elderly man with her words — which she did. For the event, Harris paired her usual pussy bow with a black power suit that signaled to viewers that she wasn't messing around. "Kamala's choice of a classic black suit for last night's debate felt significant," fashion editor Clementina Jackson told Elle UK in September 2024. "Not only did it provide a visual contrast to Trump's typically bright, garish look, but it also sent the message that she was there to get down to business."

When Kamala Harris got dressed for Inauguration Day in 2021, she was saying so much with her outfit. First of all, she wore purple from head-to-toe, the color of bipartisanship — because when you combine blue and red, you get purple. By choosing this color, Harris was saying that she planned to be Vice President for all Americans, not just the ones who voted for her. Purple is also another color that's associated with suffragists and it was noted that the all purple Harris wore throughout her campaign was a nod to Shirley Chisholm, the first Black women elected to Congress. "Chisholm ran for president as a Black woman decades ago and has inspired her political career," CNN journalist Abby Phillip told WWD of Harris.

If you think all of Kamala Harris' monochromatic looks were winning outfits for her lazy days, then think again. For starters, as we've seen Harris simply doesn't do lazy and, secondly, monochromatic is a big part of the Black community. Throughout history, wearing the same color from head-to-toe has held different meanings for Black people, from communicating political and religious beliefs, to economic reasons, to gang affiliation, to even the rise of the zoot suit era. While certainly an easy way to throw together an outfit, for Harris, it's more than that, it's letting her community know that she hasn't forgotten her roots.

Because Kamala Harris is well aware of just how much the colors you wear matter, not only did she wear a lot of purple throughout her campaign, but light lavender popped up quite a bit too. Here at a Harris-Walz campaign rally in Las Vegas, Harris is wearing a beautiful lavender and a strand of pearls, of course, to deliver a couple messages. Again, she's using the color to show her bipartisanship and her intention to be a president for all Americans, as she said she would be throughout her campaign, but purple also symbolizes justice and dignity, and is associated with International Women's Day.

If you've followed politics enough, you know they can be as absurd as they are infuriating. Case in point: when President Barack Obama wore a tan suit in 2014. For reasons we may never know — or maybe it was just straight-up racism — Republicans all over the country had an epic meltdown that Obama would hold a press conference in a suit of such a color. Well, some 10 years later, during the 2024 DNC, Kamala Harris took to the stage in her own tan suit and, like Obama before her, was cool, calm, and dignified doing so. Needless to say, MAGA and Republicans were highly triggered by this tan suit, too.

As we've seen throughout history, when a man wants to assert his dominance in a leadership role, he wears a navy suit. According to color psychology, dark blues are symbolic of authority, wisdom, and confidence, so the fact that Kamala Harris would go for a monochromatic navy suit while trying to appeal to voters during the 2024 DNC is a powerful choice and one that was definitely strategic. Harris looks trustworthy, brave, and someone who would have made one heck of a U.S. president. Unfortunately, despite the bold messaging behind her most-talked-about outfits and her words, the job went to the other guy.