It was no secret who Hillary Clinton planned to vote for when she arrived at a Chappaqua, N.Y. polling place 8 a.m. Tuesday morning — and thousands of members of the secret Facebook group “Pantsuit Nation” planned to follow her lead in more ways than one.
At first, the group was supposed to be a subtle nod to her iconic outfit, and to a candidate whose own Twitter bio declares her a “pantsuit aficionado.” But “Pantsuit Nation,” created weeks before the presidential election Tuesday, has grown into something bigger: a group of more than 2 million women and men, invited by friends and colleagues to wear the outfit while electing Hillary Clinton the first female president of the United States.
The Democratic candidate’s fashion has become synonymous with pantsuits, which she has been noted for in public life and wears constantly on the campaign trail. On Tuesday morning, she donned a tan and white version while casting her vote. In a clear nod to her longtime choice of apparel, the group encourages voters to “wear your pantsuit November 8th,” according to its public website. “You know why.”
But posts in the group, which is heavily moderated to avoid negativity about either candidate, haven’t just described voters’ sartorial choices on Election Day. They’ve also become reflections on Clinton, those iconic pantsuits and what voting for her symbolizes to them.
Several members have shared their reasons for donning the iconic fashion set: some posing with daughters too young to vote but old enough to remember Tuesday’s election and some older posters describing the experience of casting their vote early for Clinton after voting only for men as president for decades.