Kamala Harris Has Been Wearing Her Signature Accessory for 35 Years
It was the news heard 'round the world: In November, Senator Kamala Harris made history as the first Black woman and the first South Asian woman to be elected as United States Vice President. Although she's already served as the San Francisco district attorney, the California attorney general, and a California senator, securing the White House now thrusts her into the brightest spotlight of her 30-year career.
And yes, that means more people will be paying attention to what she's wearing. As every avid fashion lover knows, you can be interested in a woman's style and her substance, not just one or the other. And with this mindset, I wanted to point out the one piece of jewelry that Harris has incorporated into nearly every outfit for public appearances for decades: pearl necklaces. Our first photographic evidence? Her 1986 college graduation photo.
Harris has clearly made a deliberate choice to use pearls to craft a signature style—a uniform if you will. Not only does having a uniform make it easier to get dressed in the morning, but I believe it can also convey a sense of reliability and even loyalty. It's also worth pointing out that the pearls could be an homage to Harris's college sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha—the first African American Greek-letter sorority—where the founders are referred to as the Twenty Pearls. Any way you look at it, there's no doubt she intends to bring her pearls of wisdom to the White House, both literally and figuratively. Scroll down to see how she's worn them over 25 years.
The Evolution of Kamala Harris's Signature Pearls
Thrilled to be the commencement speaker this year at my beloved alma mater @HowardU. Here’s my graduation photo for posterity. pic.twitter.com/tiHTvnOSpcMarch 28, 2017
Shop Pearl Necklaces
Next, the top three prints of fall 2020 (beyond leopard).

Erin got her start as a Who What Wear intern in 2011—back when the site only published a single story per day. (We have since increased that number twentyfold.) She graduated magna cum laude from USC and lives in Los Angeles. In college, she also interned at Refinery29, where she was promoted to editorial assistant and then assistant editor. After nearly three years at R29, she came back to WWW in 2015, where she is now the Associate Director of Fashion News. From the Oscars to the Met Gala, she leads the site's entire red carpet coverage strategy. She specializes in celebrity and fashion news but also enjoys writing travel features and runway reports. She frequently contributes to WWW's social accounts and has a sizable following on her personal TikTok.
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