Why Kamala Harris’ suits on the campaign trail matter

For many Americans, first impressions count. This is a core value that’s ingrained in lots of us, largely because we imagine that opportunities are directly tied to aesthetics: neat clothing, oral hygiene, the appearance of our skin, and more. Conformity is one other aspect that many must undergo in the event that they want to achieve influence and power. Political candidates and people aspiring to higher office continually walk the line between conformity and self-expression, with the former often outweighing the latter. This is where Vice President Kamala Harris is available in, a lady who has largely built her image on well-fitting pants and nothing else. On the campaign trail, he sticks to that uniform and doesn’t waver.

The modus operandi of a lady in power is predicated on exerting influence, not only through oratorical skills. Tailoring decisions are also necessary – that is directly related to assembling a uniform that will be associated together with your public persona. Dress matters mainly because the American public will notice if a politician or public figure is treading into territory that doesn’t correspond to what she or he aspires to be. This may appear to be disheveled clothing or a scarcity of effort to wash up. For much of President Joe Biden’s campaign and re-election, Harris didn’t slip up – as a substitute, she kept herself aesthetically pleasing.

In many public appearances this 12 months, Harris has been wearing tailored pants in shades starting from navy blue to black and even dark brown. There have been times when she’s strayed from that path a bit – last 12 months, she stood near President Biden at the White House in a white jacket and black pants. Blue is a tone that has cultural value and has done so for hundreds of years. In Virginia Postrel, she wrote that in Twelfth-century France, the color blue represented the monarchy. Six centuries later, this tone symbolized revolution.

Postrel notes that for American presenters, blue also denotes political parties when stating American states that vote Democratic, which is why it could have grow to be Harris’ favorite color. It can be seen as a conservative color. “Blue has historical and cultural significance, but it has no ‘authentic’ meaning,” Postrel writes. Regardless of what connotations we associate with the color blue, it is evident that the vp is aware that it’s a protected alternative with regards to clothing.

A jacket and trousers worn together is the norm for many individuals who select a profession path by which they are going to mainly work in offices or take photos in public each day. Suits are the first impression that shows the seriousness someone associates with their career. Wearing them on the campaign trail underscores Harris’ commitment to consistency and continuing to keep up the trust of the American public. In matters related to high office in the country, it will be strange if the vp selected to not wear suits because it is so normalized – it will be taboo for her to decide on other items of clothing.

Whether she’s discussing the U.S. economy or addressing the victims of gun violence in Florida, Harris dons matching pieces. These clothes will not be armor, they’re a conscious decision she needed to make to prove that her clothing selections mattered greatly to her and the White House. Her clean and refined image is linked to her authenticity and level of intellect.

What’s loud about the vp’s suit-wearing during her campaign this 12 months is the way it alludes to her aesthetic identity. In layman’s terms, “aesthetic identity” is the selections one makes when it comes to appearance, hairstyle, clothing selections, and more that relate to how they would love to be perceived by peers and others. There was no instance of Harris swinging in another direction. Postrel writes that a person’s aesthetic identity “is both personal and social, an expression of who we are and with whom we want or expect to be grouped.” The stylistic decisions portray one in all the most respected black women in America as someone who’s trying to achieve trust and recognition amongst Democratic voters across the country. To combat this, she is popping to practical, conservative elements that may result in victory for her and President Joe Biden.