Kamala Harris Wears Suffragette White to Deliver Victory Speech

"While I might be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last."

Kamala Harris white suit
(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis)

Tonight, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris addressed the nation in Wilmington, ahead of President-elect Joe Biden. For the occasion, Harris—who will be the first woman to hold the office of Vice President of the United States, as well as the first vice president who is Black and of South Asian descent, making history—wore all white, a nod to the suffragette movement.

In the early 1900s, the suffragettes wore white to attend marches, and recently many women politicians have worn the color as a political statement. In 2019, several freshman congresswomen including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Madeleine Dean, and Ilhan Omar wore white suits to their swearing-in ceremony, and Hillary Clinton wore white during her run for president in 2016 as well as to Donald Trump's inauguration—quite the message.

"While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last," Harris said in her address as hundreds in the crowd cheered. "Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities."

kamala harris speech

(Image credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT)

"Dream with ambition," she said to all the little girls watching. "Lead with conviction, and see yourselves in a way that others may not simply because they've never seen it before. But know that we will applaud you every step of the way."

The vice-president elect wore what appears to be Tory Burch's white silk bow blouse under her white suit, which is reportedly Carolina Herrera.

In her speech, Harris thanked the poll workers who worked tirelessly over the last few days, and, of course, the people who turned up to vote. "For four years you marched and organized for equality and justice, for our lives and for our planet. And then you voted. And you delivered a clear message: You chose hope and unity, decency, science, and yes, truth. You chose Joe Biden as the next President of the United States of America."

A moment in history we will never forget.

Sally Holmes
Editor-in-Chief

Sally is the Editor in Chief of Marie Claire where she oversees coverage of all the things the Marie Claire reader wants to know about, including politics, beauty, fashion, and celebs. Holmes has been with Marie Claire for five years, overseeing all content for the brand’s website and social platforms. She joined Marie Claire from ELLE.com, where she worked for four years, first as Senior Editor running all news content and finally as Executive Editor. Before that, Sally was at NYMag.com's the Cut and graduated with an English major from Boston College.