After four years, Vice President Kamala Harris is back on the campaign trail. Following President Joe Biden’s departure from the presidential race on July 21 and several key endorsements—including from Biden himself—Harris has taken on the role of Democratic nominee.
Harris has gracefully rolled with the punches, folding her campaign events into existing obligations, so it’s no surprise that her style is largely unchanged. But there was no need for a shake-up in the first place. With all the changes this country has faced over the last few years (even the last few weeks!), seeing Harris in her uniform is a comforting sight.
The vice president generally sticks to her tried-and-true classics: a tailored pantsuit in neutrals or jewel tones; a pointy-toe pump; and a sharp, strong silhouette, thanks to shoulder pads and a straight-leg or tapered trouser. And while we can always count on Harris to accessorize with an American flag pin on her lapel, she has also worn pearls on the campaign trail, a nod to her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and the so-called Twenty Pearls that represent the sisterhood’s founders.
For her first major campaign event since announcing her candidacy, Harris was joined at her Atlanta rally by senators Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock, former Georgia state representative Stacey Abrams, and rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo. For the occasion she chose a powder blue suit over a white top, nude pointy-toe pumps, and her signature two-strand Irene Neuwirth pearl necklace. Her first appearance with running mate Tim Walz, at a rally in Philadelphia, saw Harris in a navy suit—an American flag pin affixed to one of the lapels–and a blush bow blouse.
The Democratic nominee’s style choices are often loaded with meaning, like the tan Chloé suit she wore to night one of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago—a nod to President Obama’s “controversial” suiting of yore. At the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual Phoenix Awards, she chose a black sequined column dress from LaQuan Smith, the Black American designer who previously fashioned the VP’s Beyoncé concert look. But she’s also committed to functionality (just look at her longtime love of Converse!). While surveying damage from Hurricane Helene in Augusta, Georgia, Harris wore a sensible pair of black leather boots and a black windbreaker emblazoned with the Vice Presidential seal.
Similarly to her DNC appearances, she opted for a sleek suit for her September 10 debate against Donald Trump on ABC. In a white blouse knotted at the neck, worn with a well-tailored black suit, and black pointy-toe pumps, Harris is more than dressing for the job she wants.
Ahead, a closer look at how Vice President Kamala Harris is dressing for the campaign trail.
