海角社区官网

Under the klieg lights in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we saw the now familiar sea of MAGA caps and gear, and the patriotic palette of red, white and blue for pencil dresses and ties. But there was also an unexpected new trend set by presidential nominee Donald Trump himself post-assassination attempt, and a slew of zanily attired delegates, from flag-emblazoned toga-wearers to the Wisconsin cheeseheads鈥攜es, people who proudly wear chunks of cheese on their heads. Here, the most notable fashion statements from the 2024 RNC.

Trump鈥檚 ear bandage

Donald Trump has one of the most consistent political wardrobes in recent memory: generously cut navy blue Brioni suits and deliberately long ties, worn with his signature hair-sprayed coif and spray-on tan. After being shot in the ear last Saturday, the modern master of political theatre applied a large, white square of gauze to his聽ear and carried on.

His faithful fans leapt to emulate the look. A bandage affixed to one鈥檚 right ear became a badge of honour, an instant convention symbol and no doubt a future Halloween costume.

J.D. Vance鈥檚 facial hair

Trump鈥檚 new running mate has smashed a big political grooming taboo: He has a beard.

The Western political realm has remained whisker-free for decades; the last American presidential candidate with facial hair was Republican Thomas Dewey in 1948, described as having a 鈥渄apper little caterpillar鈥� above his lip by the New York Times. He lost. The last bearded president of the United States was in 1888, Republican Benjamin Harrison.

In the past half-century, facial hair been thought to infer the wearer has something to hide, and has long been associated with counterculture鈥攆rom hippies to Brooklyn baristas. J.D. Vance, the 39-year-old Ohio Senator and 鈥淗illbilly Elegy鈥� author, is a millennial. He is of a generation that embraces tattoos and facial hair, and he represents a new demographic on the American political stage.

Usha Vance鈥檚 off-the-rack dress

J.D. Vance鈥檚 wife Usha Vance is a litigator and former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice John Roberts who met her husband at Yale; she and Vance have three children. For her convention speech, where she spoke about being raised in San Diego by parents who were immigrants from India, she chose a cobalt blue shift dress by American brand Badgley Mischka.

She purchased it, we were told, off the rack. Off-the-rack is not an insult. When celebrities of any kind purchase the items of clothing they wear for photo ops, in a world of freebie-driven PR, it鈥檚 a statement that the choice is both deliberate and personal, and that the fashion industry is worth supporting.

The red, white and blue

Patriotic dressing at the RNC means a strict palette of red, white and/or blue. For the women on stage, this diplomatic dress code is often interpreted in a body-conscious manner. Take Kimberly Guilfoyle, TV news personality and fianc茅e of Donald Trump Jr., who chose a form-fitting red dress and red-soled heels to speak at the podium. Trump鈥檚 granddaughter Kai wore a white sundress to make a speech about her 鈥済randpa.鈥� Ivanka and Tiffany Trump also showed up in white, and stayed to the sidelines.

Silent also was former first lady Melania Trump, who appeared at her husband鈥檚 side only at the end of the proceedings, as he accepted the party鈥檚 nomination. She wore a red skirt suit, first seen in 2017 on an official visit to Paris. The suit was a custom Dior, a modern version of the House鈥檚 classic Bar suit, made famous as the epitome of The New Look in 1947.

The one thing you can鈥檛 throw shade at the former fashion model for is her impeccable dress sense (except for that 鈥淚 really don鈥檛 care do u?鈥� Zara jacket) and sense of occasion. If Melania was only going to make one appearance at the convention, this was the look that would pop for the cameras.

Matt Gaetz鈥� eyebrows

The internet-churned controversy over Matt Gaetz鈥檚 eyebrow grooming took off when Claudia Conway鈥檚 tweet about it went viral.

The daughter of Trump staffer Kellyann Conway, who famously broke free of parental social media controls when she was underage and her mom was working in the White House, Conway captioned a shot of Gaetz looking like a makeup artist had gone to town on him: 鈥淟owkey need him to gimme the name of that eyebrow pencil he鈥檚 using.鈥� On the RNC stage, the well-groomed arches were the talk of the town once again.

The zany, the bad and the ugly

Onstage, many presenters tended to resemble FOX News hosts: big hair, tight tailoring, heavy makeup. But much of the audience appeared to be at an entirely different party, a costume party, perhaps.

As is tradition, individual delegates wore signifiers of their state, from cowboy hats to cheese hats (host state Wisconsin is known for its dairy industry).

There was also a host of on-theme accessories, from buttons and sashes to golden sneakers and diamant茅 GOP elephant earrings. There were Uncle Sam hats, flag-wrapped togas and sequined jackets fit for the wrestling ring, emblazoned with the nominee鈥檚 name.

And if delegates didn鈥檛 bring their Republican-signalling best, there was merch for that. T-shirts for sale told the full Donald Trump story: Impeached, Arrested, Convicted, Shot. Not much more can be added to that, really.