Why Every Former First Lady Wore Shades of Purple to the 2021 Inauguration

Shannon Adducci
·2 min read
5

Laura Bush wore periwinkle. Hillary Clinton donned grape. Michelle Obama was in burgundy.

As each former first lady stepped out onto the steps of the Capitol Building, the shades of purple were impossible to ignore.

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That was the point. After two weeks — and four years — of partisan division, which culminated in a violent insurrection on the very same steps where the inauguration took place today, the first ladies sent a strong message using the power of their fashion. The color purple has come to represent political bipartisanship, the literal mixture of Republican Red and Democrat Blue. The color’s symbolism of unity, solidarity and coming together has also been a central message of president Joe Biden.

Purple was not just the choice of the first ladies; Kamala Harris also wore the color to be sworn in as the first woman vice president in U.S. history. Harris has often chosen the color throughout not just the 2020 general election but also in her own presidential bid during the democratic primaries. The hue is not just a message of unity, it is also a nod to Shirley Chisholm, who was the first woman, first Black person and first Black woman to run for president in the U.S., in her 1972 Democratic bid.

Just two weeks ago, the Capitol steps were a sea of red MAGA hats, an accessory that has not only become a partisan symbol but more recently a more overt badge of hatred and violence, and a literal emblem of the blood that was shed on January 6. Today, the only swath of red that was visible at the Capitol came from Lady Gaga’s Schiaparelli gown, which was perhaps an ill-chosen option (in color, in lack of American designer) in hindsight, given others’ fashion choices of the moment.

The purple hues were a stark contrast to the new former first lady, Melania Trump. At her husband’s farewell speech from Joint Andrews Base, she was dressed in all black, a somber choice suggesting the mourning of the Trump presidency coming to an end. Second Lady Karen Pence also donned black in attending the inauguration with former vice president Mike Pence.

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