Politics
Dr. Jill Biden's White Inauguration Outfit Had A Special Note Inside
A hand-embroidered quote from Thomas Jefferson, in fact.
Inauguration Day was a real day for meaningful fashion. From Lady Gaga's gorgeous dove pin to Sen. Bernie Sanders' handmade mittens that have become the meme of the month, there were plenty of looks to talk about. But one particularly meaningful fashion statement was more private and subtle. Indeed. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden's white Inauguration Day outfit had a special note embroidered inside, and it was a nod to her passion for education.
Dr. Biden wore several different outfits on Inauguration Day, including a teal wool coat and matching dress to stay warm as her husband was being sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. But it was her evening outfit — a white dress with a white overcoat designed by Gabriela Hearst, according to CNN — that really had a special meaning.
As Hearst explained in an Instagram post, the white coat was designed with unity in mind, featuring flowers from all 50 states. "The blooming symbol to represent this message are the federal flowers from every state and territory of the United States of America. The flowers are embroidered into the cashmere coat on the hem line in an pattern that rises organically on the side’s seams," Hearst shared.
The state flower of Delaware, where Dr. Biden has lived and taught for much of her life, was placed closest to her heart and all flowers branch out from that one.
As if that wasn't symbolic enough, inside the coat's lining there was a hand embroidered quote from Founding Father Benjamin Franklin that was a direct nod to Dr. Biden's passion for education, "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn."
Dr. Biden has remained dedicated to her work as a teacher throughout her husband's time in politics. In 2009, she made history as the first wife of the vice president to continue working, and now that her husband is president she plans to continue working as a community college teacher outside the White House. As she told CBS Sunday Morning when her husband was on the campaign trail, "If we get to the White House, I'm going to continue to teach. I want people to value teachers and know their contributions and lift up the profession."
There could be no more perfect quote to have embroidered for Dr. Biden than the one from Franklin. Her entire outfit, so lovely and elegant, was put together with such thought and consideration to the sort of First Lady Dr. Biden appears to want to be. A woman who values unity, her own history, and education.