Barack Obama Has Thoughts on Kamala Harris’ ‘Brown Coconut’ Suit

If the “coconut brown” suit Kamala Harris wore to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday, August 19, reminded you of the similarly shaded brown suit Barack Obama wore to a press conference in 2014, you are not the just one.

On the tenth anniversary of this milestone in fashion history, Obama made just a little joke in regards to the incident that began the talk about appropriate political fashion, which surprisingly gained much more traction than his first geopolitical statement while wearing a suit.

“How it started. How it’s happening. Ten years later and it still looks good! IWillVote.com,” Obama wrote within the caption Instagram a post featuring side-by-side photos of his memorable appearance from a decade ago and Harris’ appearance on the Democratic convention.

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When Obama wore a brown suit and grey striped tie, many saw it as a casual selection for the occasion as he spoke of the potential of a tougher U.S. military response to the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria.

A flared version of Harris’s dress in coconut brown, designed by Chloé’s creative director Chemena Kamali, paired with a cream lavallière shirt and patent light brown pointed-toe stilettos from the French brand, was a lot better received than Obama’s dress.

Harris’ particular suit shade, “coconut brown,” is a transparent play on an iconic quote Harris inherited from her mother: “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of everything you live in and everything that came before you.” Harris first shared the quote on May 10, 2023, throughout the President’s Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Latinos.

Given that context and the typically strategic approach to political attire, Harris’s suit selection seemed more like a deliberate, clever nod than an arbitrary fashion selection. Given how well most people has received Harris’ suit, Obama’s tweet Wednesday may have been a subtle commentary on how the overall perception of a black presidential candidate is improving.

While Harris’ exact suit style isn’t available for purchase, the same double-breasted blazer in coconut color retailing for $2,758.05 is on the market at Chloé website.