Inauguration coats: Where Ella Emhoff, Amanda Gorman and more got their looks

By Jessica RoyAssistant Editor, Utility Journalism

Jan. 20, 2021 4:20 PM PT

It was a chilly morning in D.C. Fortunately, the women who were front and center at today’s inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were more than dressed for the occasion.

The COVID-19 pandemic has rendered the last 10 months largely devoid of major sartorial moments like the Met Gala, movie premieres and award shows — which may partly explain why the parade of statement coats nearly broke the internet this morning. It helped that a lot of them were genuinely great.

Kamala Harris

“By choosing to wear New York-based designer Christopher John Rogers, a young Black designer from Baton Rouge, La., the vice president has signaled that she plans to leverage her elevated profile on the world stage to champion designers of color,” Times fashion writer Adam Tschorn noted.

Harris was in head-to-toe suffragist purple, in a look designed by Christopher John Rogers.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff.

Ella Emhoff

Harris’ stepdaughter was dressed just as fashionably in bedazzled Miu Miu: “Ella Emhoff, Second Daughter, Run Me Over in That Coat,” read a Glamour headline. You will not be surprised to learn that Emhoff is a textile design student at the Parsons School of Design in New York City.

Michelle Obama

The former first lady always shows up to these events looking flawless. Today was no exception. Ensemble by Sergio Hudson.

Amanda Gorman

The youth poet laureate was turning heads before her reading even began. Her yellow coat and red headband are both by Prada, and yes, they are both already sold out. Oprah Winfrey sent her the jewelry: Nikos Koulis earrings and an Of Rare Origin ring.

First Lady Jill Biden

The new first lady was wearing an ocean blue ensemble by Alexandra O’Neill for the New York-based sustainability focused label Markarian. Biden mirrored Michelle Obama’s tradition of wearing a fresh American designer, and she added a matching silk face mask for a touch of pandemic chic.

Natalie Biden

The president’s oldest granddaughter stole the show in a bright pink custom coat and matching mask.

Amy Klobuchar

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) emceed the event in a mustard yellow trench. In a nod to her Midwestern roots, it is a coat she has worn before — when she was announcing her presidential candidacy — and she has declined to say who designed it. (The only way it would be more Midwestern is if she bragged about getting it on sale.)