Looking Back at Kamala Harris’s Presidential Style

With President Joe Biden announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 election, our gaze turns to Vice President Kamala Harris. The Veep is at the top of the list of potential contenders to replace Biden on the ticket, thanks to the heaps of endorsements she’s earned since the announcement—including from the outgoing President himself.

As the saying goes “dress for the job you want,” and Harris has been outfitting herself in a particularly presidential manner—especially as she’s served as Biden’s right hand. Over the last four years, we’ve seen the Vice President tackle the everyday to the extraordinary through her outfits.

On Inauguration Day in 2021, Harris swore her oath in a purple Christopher John Rogers dress and matching coat. Rogers is one of several Black American designers she’s championed during her term. On the night of the Inauguration, she opted for a structured black tuxedo coat over a black sequin dress from Sergio Hudson, and when she attended Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour last year in Maryland, the Vice President wore a gold sequin button-up from LaQuan Smith.

Color is also critical to Harris. The purple-hued Inauguration look served as a symbol of bipartisanship—a mixture of the Democratic blue and Republican red. And, upon winning the 2020 election, she wore a Suffragette white suit by Carolina Herrera.

But even her dressed-down looks are considered. In 2019, while still a 2020 presidential candidate, Harris spoke at a gun safety forum in a dressed-down, woman-of-the-people look: a white button-up, blue jeans, and black sneakers. She adopted that boots-on-the-ground look for a surprise appearance at the March for Reproductive Rights in 2023, donning a sleek, buttery tan leather jacket over a white button-up.

Whether she is wearing custom Chloé for a state dinner, or a denim jacket bedazzled with the Pride flag, Kamala Harris has used clothing to broadcast authority, political statements, and competence throughout her term. We have no doubt her run for President of the United States will be just as thoughtful.