A Brief History of Color-Coded Protest Fashion
Photo: Getty.
He’s coming to New York today, to hang out at The Intrepid, and though we haven’t been briefed on what he will be wearing, we can certainly guess: President Trump will no doubt be clad in his usual dark suit and one of those vaguely too-long red neckties he favors.
If, on the other hand, you are among the thousands of New Yorkers who will be on hand to greet the commander-in-chief, and to loudly let him know what you think of his policies, the question is—what will you wear? The people over at #NoTrumpNYC think you should doll yourself up in white, “in honor of past immigrant and civil rights movements.”
Ok, sure, great, but not just that! Because white clothing also has a venerable history in the struggle for equal rights for women. It began with the fight for the vote: In London, in the early years of the 20th century, three colors were designated as the shades of suffrage: white for purity, purple for dignity, and green for hope. The predominant hue, however, was almost exclusively ivory—the other colors served as accents. Not only did this look beautiful, but when observers gazed out at a sea of nasty women in clad in similar shades, their strength and solidarity were immediately apparent. In 1912, activist Kate Harvey even staged The Women’s Freedom League International Suffrage Fair at Chelsea Town Hall in London, where you could purchase some of this color-coded suffragist stuff. (The organization’s slogan was “Deeds, Not Words.”)
Americans activists switched the green to gold: At the 1916 Democratic National Convention in St. Louis, delegates were forced to traverse a long line of white-clad suffragists, a “Golden Lane” of fierce females in white flaunting gold sashes and umbrellas. They may have been “pure” in their pale frocks, but they were certainly no sissies—the suffragists endured prison, hunger strikes, and police brutality on the road to victory.
Alas, there is no Suffrage Fair to attend before today’s protest (Oh, that we could go back in time! Who doesn’t long for an afternoon of shopping in the past?) but no doubt your closet can yield some resistance-worthy white fashions, to show your solidarity and also—because we are optimistic Americans who can dream and fight for better times ahead!—celebrate the glorious days of spring.
This story originally appeared on Vogue.
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