4 Times Sarah Huckabee Sanders' Leather Looks Were Total Fashion Fails

Since her days behind the microphone acting as the White House press secretary during Donald Trump's first term as president, Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been in the spotlight. After shutting down reporters and spinning answers like a top, she went on to become the first female governor of Arkansas, making history with her political career. Before all that, she served as a campaign manager for multiple politicians, and an advisor for several others, including her dad, Mike Huckabee, who also served as governor of Arkansas.

With as many years in the political arena as she's had, you would think Huckabee Sanders has been schooled in what looks good on camera in terms of her wardrobe. Despite being photographed and filmed during all of her jobs, however, the governor still seems to struggle with her outfit choices, often picking silhouettes and designs that do nothing but land her on worst-dressed and "why?" lists. 

Since losing weight in 2023 and 2024, she's been trying new clothing options and has seemingly found one she likes: leather. But while Huckabee Sanders is smitten with the material, it's not always kind to her in return. The politician doesn't seem to have enough wardrobe savvy to combine leather pieces with her conservative political career and often winds up looking mismatched to the situation, mismatched in her apparel pieces, and achieving nothing but a plain old fashion miss.  

Sarah Huckabee Sanders is a hunter, along with her husband Bryan and their three kids, which may have led to her love of all things animal hide — which explains why she thought mixing leather with suede was a sound idea. During a campaign rally for Donald Trump two days before the election in November 2024, the governor popped up in Pennsylvania to show her support and give us another reason to question her fashion choices. 

Huckabee Sanders went with a slim-fit black turtleneck tucked into a dark-brown leather skirt, and a pair of sandy-colored, suede boots. The individual pieces were chic and sleek, but when combined together, they made the governor look like a patchwork quilt sewn in the dark. The leather skirt might have appeared black in a poorly lit hotel room, but when paired with the ebony top, took on more of a deep chocolate hue, or a very faded black. The colors were too close without being a match, which made them a hard combination to admire. 

To add even more to the hodge-podge of her outfit, the suede boots were an unwelcome contrast in both texture and color. Very close in color to her skin tone, the boots made it look as if her legs simply disappeared beyond her dark skirt — if not for the fact that the fuzziness and matte finish of the material was such a stark contrast to the smoothness and shininess of the leather.

Ever seen a potato sack made out of leather? You have now, thanks to Sarah Huckabee Sanders. During her participation in the Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2025, the politician doled out interviews and speeches touting her devotion and admiration for President Donald Trump and met up with cohorts like Sean Spicer and Hannah Stone. For one of the days, Huckabee's outfit consisted of the sandy-colored suede boots she likes to wear, topped off with a brown leather dress.

Leather and leather-like fabrics don't have a lot of bend and movement, mostly keeping their original silhouette. It's a great trait in some instances (ie: the boots that stay up on their own), but if that shape matches a brown paper grocery bag, it can be a disastrous fashion choice. The dress Huckabee wore had giant shoulder pads, a few visible seams, and nothing else — including a waistline. Made in a softer knit fabric, the frock would have moved with Huckabee, allowing a more flattering shape to emerge. But the leather stayed perfectly stiff and straight, leaving the governor to assume the role of a potato, no matter how much she moved around.

It's not the first time she's opted for a baggy silhouette, and there have been plenty of times Huckabee Sanders' outfits have completely missed the mark, but since losing several pounds in 2024, she's taken to wearing more tucked-in outfits that show off her slimmer figure. Looks like she had a moment of nostalgia here and went with an old — and unflattering — standby.

Rock 'n' roll and leather go hand in hand, so it wasn't a terrible decision for Sarah Huckabee Sanders to don a short leather skirt to attend the Jelly Roll concert on October 23, 2024, at Simmons Bank Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas. The politician even had a backstage pass, hung with the singer, and posed with fans as seen above. 

Where it all went terribly wrong was when she was standing in front of her closet, leather skirt already zipped up, deciding what top to pair with the bottom half of her outfit. A leather skirt is a statement on its own, so she could have gone with a really simple blouse — even a plain white T-shirt would have kept the cool factor on point. However, Huckabee Sanders opted for a brown satin top that was one shade off from what would have actually matched the color of her skirt. 

The top was also busy in its detailing, with a high collar, cross-chest shirring, and sleeves that widened at the wrist. It was a blouse that would have looked more appropriate giving flair under a conservative pantsuit, instead of being tucked into a leather skirt. The shininess of the satin did not go well with the matte texture of the leather, either. Huckabee Sanders is not okay in this outfit.

It was a beautiful day in Kansas City on September 15, 2024. The Chiefs were playing at home at Arrowhead Stadium, and there was even a chance of a Taylor Swift sighting. The sun was shining, and the temperature was a balmy high of 90 degrees. It was the perfect day to wear a pair of shorts. It was not, however, a great day to be wearing leather.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders attended the game and dressed in the team's red and white colors to cheer them on. Her sandals were weather-appropriate, and her sunglasses were perfect. The long-sleeved shirt was questionable, but it was white, and she had the ability to roll up the sleeves, so it eked by with a hesitant pass. The shorts, however, were a rookie movie in the world of fashion. For anyone who's ever worn leather, it's a known factor that while it looks cool, it's anything but when it comes to balmy weather.

Leather, even if it's faux, is not a breathable fabric. Huckabee Sanders' hair lost its curl as the day went on, and the bow on her blouse continued to get floppier and floppier, so we could only assume she wasn't immune to the heat of the sun. As such, our guess is she spent a good portion of the game sitting in a swamp of sweat created by the unforgiving leather of her shorts. The Chiefs won their game, but Huckabee Sanders' wardrobe was not a winning choice.