This Wednesday, in Washington, a familiar pink suit stole the spotlight! White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was fielding questions as usual, and the topics were Venezuela, Greenland, and China. Interestingly, a parallel conversation exploded online, and it referred to the iconic show The Simpsons, and how similar our Press Secretary’s outfit was to a character.
28-year-old Karoline Leavitt had stepped up to the White House briefing room podium on January 7, wearing a tailored pink suit with dark trim and gold buttons. The look was sharp, but as we mentioned, way too familiar. Social media compared her look to Marge Simpson. Specifically, Marge’s pink Chanel-inspired suit from Season 7’s Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield.
In this episode, which aired on February 4, 1996, Marge bought the suit at a discount outlet and wore it to a country club. But she realized that wealth didn’t mean that she would feel like she belonged. To date, that episode is one of the show’s best satires.
not a movie but marge’s chanel suit in “scenes from the class struggle in springfield” https://t.co/ARWjtgmYZj pic.twitter.com/eoBQkcbVQP
— giri of meat (@meatgirI) January 23, 2023
One viewer joked on X (formerly Twitter) that Leavitt was “sporting an outfit from the Marge Simpson collection.” Another quipped they turned on the new channels just to see if Karoline Leavitt was “cosplaying Jackie Kennedy.”
Now, this is where we have to note that Marge’s outfit wasn’t original either.
Her suit was modeled on one of the most iconic yet tragic looks in American history: Jackie Kennedy’s pink Chanel suit. Yes, the very one she was wearing the day her husband, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963. The real-life one is described as “watermelon pink,” and it was a double-breasted wool Chanel design with navy trim and gold buttons.
Jackie had refused to change out of the bloodstained suit during Lyndon B. Johnson’s swearing-in, and even when she was flying back to Washington. She wanted the world would see “what they’ve done.” Jackie’s daughter, Caroline, later donated it to the National Archives on the condition that it must be sealed for 100 years. As of now, that suit is stored in a climate-controlled vault and won’t be publicly displayed until 2103. So you and I aren’t going to be able to see it in this lifetime.
something interesting i learned in my fashion history class today: let’s discuss jackie kennedy’s iconic pink “chanel” suit and the concept of “line for line” designs pic.twitter.com/EuDxlNENrJ
— corinne ☆ (@MIUCClAMUSE) March 30, 2023
Now, Karoline Leavitt wasn’t discussing anything trivial at her White House briefing, either.
She was defending the Trump administration’s approach to foreign policy as diplomacy was “always” the president’s first option, though he is now threatening to acquire Greenland. She is saying the administration keeps “all options on the table,” as Greenland is strategically vital for Arctic security and opposing China and Russia. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned a U.S. attack on a NATO ally would end the alliance. Donald Trump then tried to reaffirm support for NATO on Truth Social.
Yet none of that stopped watchers from fixating on Karoline Leavitt’s suit, did it?
NEXT UP: Karoline Leavitt Puts Zohran Mamdani’s Wife on Blast Over $630 Designer Boots
