Harris' sneakers, Trump's red ties - what fashion choices tell us about politicians

Clothing plays its part in electioneering, acting as emblems to appeal to voters and hinting at how the candidates will lead.

- Deirdre Clemente

With election day in the US approaching, candidates are courting voters with everything they've got: targeted ads, texts, taunts and stump speeches.

As a fashion historian, I think an overlooked aspect of electioneering is clothing, which is a silent, powerful way for candidates to tell the American public who they are.

It's an act as old as power itself.

"Clothes, from the king's mantle downwards, are emblematic," wrote Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle in Sartor Resartus, a seminal text in fashion studies.

Ms Kamala Harris, Mr Tim Walz, Donald Trump and Mr J.D.

Vance have all taken a page from that 1834 publication. Each wields an emblem in an effort to appeal to voters - and hint at how they'll lead.

THE PEOPLE'S CROWN

What's more American than a baseball cap? When Mr Walz, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, dons one on the campaign trail, he's doing more than covering up a thinning head of hair.

To the bane of many churchgoers and office managers, baseball caps have moved beyond the ballpark to become a ubiquitous symbol for an American dude.

"It's completely egalitarian," surmised a brand guru at New Era, the official baseball cap supplier of Major League Baseball. "It's the people's crown." The baseball cap is born of functionality. Shaded eyes can see better. In the 1880s, ballplayers chose among styles ranging from bellman-inspired, stout-brimmed pillboxes to something newsboys might wear.

Consumers' choices pushed manufacturers such as Spalding to settle on the domed design used today.

I think Mr Walz wears the hats to tell voters: "Hey, I'm just like you." He has a cap for every occasion.

The former high school coach wears a mesh-sided, truckers' hat to host a fishing competition. He sports a camouflaged number when talking to fellow hunters.