Kyrsten Sinema in All Her Bad Outfits Is the New Ivanka Trump

Have you missed Ivanka Trump’s breathlessly variable White House fashion—her pristine, all-white “I’m rich” outfits or knifelike Louboutin stilettos? Probably not. But say what you will about the whole erosion of democracy under Trump’s presidency, or that pesky insurrection, but the first daughter sure wore some outfits during her four years spent as an “White House adviser”-slash-faded-debutante.

Don’t fret, for a torch has been passed. Ivanka may be holed up in her million-dollar Miami compound, but another high-powered white woman is dressing to enrage: Kyrsten Sinema. Her clothes appear to be an extension of her political persona: she will do things her way, thanks very much, and she does not care if you don’t like it, or don’t understand it—such as her wearing a denim vest to preside over the senate earlier this week.

First, let’s get the obvious out of the way. There are plenty of reasons to rag on the senator from Arizona that have nothing to do with what she wears. She ghoulishly voted against raising the minimum wage in the middle of the pandemic, and underscored her choice with a faux-cutesy “thumbs down” on the Senate floor.

Despite the “our office is here to serve you” blazed on her official website, Sinema does not hold town hall meetings with constituents. She cried victim when protestors followed her into the bathroom to grill her about Biden’s Reconciliation Bill and amnesty. (Heaven forbid a public servant is made to feel the slightest bit uncomfortable when the people she represents attempt to hold her accountable for her actions.)

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Zach Gibson

Much like Ivanka, Sinema keeps quiet on the issues most people want to talk about, preferring to let her outfits and the smirks she gives photographers do the talking. So whether she likes it or not, the rest of us are left projecting our opinions about Sinema onto her clothing.

The New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman wrote a column on her “kooky” looks, which she called “signposts… and the direction they are pointed is entirely her way.” SNL tapped Cicely Strong to play the senator this month, with cast member James Austin Johnson as Joe Biden saying “she looks like all the characters from Scooby Doo at the same time.”

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Stefani Reynolds

Sinema’s mix-match of prints—a zebra stripe socks here, a pig wink there— even inspired the Halloween costume of Theo, a 6-month-old puppy who North Carolina senator Thom Tillis brought to Congress’ “bipawtisan” dog costume contest. (I’m sure the American people would prefer actual bipartianship rather than a folksy play on words, but none of that is Theo’s fault. Good job, Theo.)

So what do we make of her clothes? The “Fuck You” ring she wore to brunch, supposedly a message to her “haters.” The Marilyn Monroe get up she wore to her 2019 swearing-in, which included a pink fur…