Kamala Harris' Purple Suit Had More Meaning Than We Realized

Apart from being a force to be reckoned with in politics, Kamala Harris is known for her impeccable fashion sense. She often wears tailored suits and well-defined blazers and completes her look with signature Converse sneakers. The presidential nominee knows how to captivate people's minds with her words and her style. Who can forget her stunning purple attire at Joe Biden's inauguration day in 2021? Although Harris received a lot of praise for wearing that dress, not many people know the real story behind the regal purple coat and why she decided to wear the aforementioned hue on such a significant day.

On January 20, 2021, Biden took the oath as the 46th President of the United States, while Harris became the first woman to be sworn in as vice president. To mark the special day, the Democratic Party's nominee for president chose to wear a purple dress made by the designer Christopher John Rogers and matched it up with a coat of the same color. Some might believe that Harris chose to wear a purple dress because the color suits her. However, there's a deeper meaning behind her choice. CNN journalist Abby Phillip noted that Harris paid tribute to the legendary Democratic Party member Shirley Chisholm by wearing purple at the inauguration (via WWD). For the uninitiated, Chisholm was the first Black woman to make her way to Congress in 1968. Moreover, she was the first Black woman to run for president in 1972 and she wore a purple dress while announcing her candidacy. Correspondingly, purple emerged as a symbol of inspiration.

"I stand, as so many of us do, on her shoulders because she understood you just march to that podium and claim that podium," Harris said about Chisholm in an interview with theGrio in 2019. 

In addition to honoring Shirley Chisholm, Kamala Harris' bold look symbolized a key element of democracy: bipartisanship. Red represents the Republican party, while blue represents the Democratic party, and when the colors are mixed, we get purple. According to many, her purple dress illustrated her commitment to bipartisanship and unity. "The significance of purple in this moment is that it represents a blending and coming together of the red and blue, which are the two colors that represent each of the major political parties in the U.S.," Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, told WWD in January 2021.

Kamala Harris has always been a supporter of bipartisanship and has already made it clear that she will establish a bipartisan council of advisors to provide feedback on policy if she gets elected on November 5 (via The New York Times). It would be interesting to see if Harris opts for purple again if she defeats her opponent and Republican candidate Donald Trump in the election. As of now, both sides are leaving no stone unturned to make the last push for an assured victory. Trump addressed Madison Square Garden on October 27 and criticized Harris and her team for their policies. Meanwhile, Harris slammed Trump at her rally in North Philadelphia on the same day, urging her followers to vote and take the country forward.