3 Of Usha Vance's Most Outdated Outfits So Far

Usha Vance is an enigma. How does the daughter of Indian immigrants, a registered Democrat until roughly a decade ago, find herself standing beside the man occupying the most hardline corner of the Republican Party? Now, one of the most visible women in American life, her wardrobe has inevitably become part of the conversation, too — and it raises as many questions as her political trajectory. Vance is often photographed in structured, form-fitting business dresses. According to The Telegraph, she has enlisted stylist Isabella Nardone of Tory Burch. But even with a professional hand, the results have occasionally veered towards the oddly anachronistic, sparking questions about her style evolution (or lack thereof).   

On paper, Usha is unimpeachable, and deeply accomplished. She's progressed through some of the world's most elite institutions, from Yale to Cambridge to the Supreme Court. As JD Vance rose through the ranks of conservative politics, Usha remained mostly in the background as a calm, inscrutable presence often described as his "spirit guide." She stepped away from her high-powered career at a progressive law firm, however, to "focus on caring for [their] family" (via PEOPLE). Might her ideological and professional zigzagging have something to do with her fashion choices? 

Quite possibly. Her fashion, like her biography, doesn't always signal a clear allegiance. The result has been a wardrobe that feels dated, like trying to avoid making too bold a statement in either direction. But try as she might, we just can't ignore her outdated sartorial ambiguity.

At a campaign rally in Georgia in October 2024, Usha Vance stepped out in a fitted black sleeveless top and cropped magenta trousers. This look appeared to gesture towards the fading embers of the Barbiecore obsession that dominated the previous summer — a pink-saturated moment sparked by Greta Gerwig's blockbuster the year prior. Though this playful reclamation of hyperfemininty had been ubiquitous in 2023, by the time Usha had caught up, the zeitgeist had moved on.

In fact, October 2024 saw fashion's compass swing inwards, favoring quiet luxury and elemental textures. Instead of Mattel's chromatic exuberance, we were seeing more natural textures and neutral tones — shades that evoked soil rather than synthetics. What's more Usha's flirtation with Barbiecore sat uneasily alongside a campaign advancing restrictions on women's reproductive rights. In context, co-opting the color grossly patronized the film's feminist message, and in that moment, the dream house felt a little too close to the doll box.

As the world gathered together its loose denim styling tips to prepare for skinny jeans not coming back, it seems Usha Vance missed the memo. Ahead of the November 2024 presidential election, she accompanied her husband to a campaign stop in Greenville, North Carolina, where he and Donald Trump appeared together. Stepping onto the tarmac, Usha wore a dark sleeveless top with a mock turtleneck, tucked neatly into a pair of medium-wash skinny jeans — a look that, by late 2024, had been all but archived.

At the time, the fashion consensus was clear: skinny jeans were still out of fashion. In fact, they had already been classified as one outdated denim trend you didn't want to be caught wearing in 2024. Once the default uniform of every woman from Soho to suburbia, the skinny jean has long been edged out by more current silhouettes — like the forecasted denim trends you'll be seeing everywhere in 2025.

There was something about this look that flattered her presence. For someone with such a striking résumé, this outfit missed the mark, and should have been shrugged off.

At a diner stop during the 2024 campaign trail, Usha Vance wore a rust-colored V-neck dress with short sleeves and buttons down the front, loosely coming in at the waist. The piece appeared to be made of a jersey, or jersey-adjacent material. This material may be soft, but it's one of those outdated fashion trends that instantly age you.

It's a risky fabric, infamous for the way it tends to cling and wrinkle the second its worn. For Vance, the effect wasn't disastrous, but it was certainly underwhelming. In a different fabrication — like a crisp linen — that same dress might have signalled a certain je ne sais quois. In jersey, however, it deflated any real elegance.