Sarah Huckabee Sanders has a track record of outfits that just didn’t work, but one piece that really stands out is a dress she donned throughout her 2022 campaign for governor of Arkansas. A little too casual for the occasions, Sanders’ stripy blue minidress would have been more appropriate for lunch with friends (that is, if she had to wear it at all).
As a brief descriptor for those who haven’t already seen it, Sanders’ dress by Sundays was a stripy blue mini with a popped collar, billowing sleeves, tiered ruffles on both the sleeves and the skirt, and an adjustable waist, which was designed to be a feature in itself. In short, it was a lot, both on Sanders and on the model pictured in it on the Monkees of Greenville website. In a way, we feel like giving kudos to the then-candidate for taking a risk with … all of that. That said, we’re not convinced it paid off, especially since it felt way too informal for official events.
While we can (kind of, from a distance, with one eye closed) see Sanders’ dress working for a casual morning or afternoon hang, the cotton fabric felt inappropriate for an address to voters. Granted, we’re not sure this particular frock would have benefitted from a heavier, more luxe-looking material (we’ll say it again: ruffles, sleeves, collar, waist detailing). Then again, Sanders did end up winning the election despite donning it twice, so perhaps her electorate liked that she seemed super down-to-earth.
Sarah has styled the dress in different ways
While we’re not fans of Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ striped blue mini, we will give her props for her styling efforts. During her gubernatorial campaign in 2022, she twice paired it with bare legs and nude heels. That at least gave the otherwise messy dress a somewhat cleaner look (though back to what is and isn’t appropriate, we’re not sure the length was the most on-brand for the occasions).
Fast-forward to after she won the election, Sanders wore it once again, this time to announce her nominee for the Director of Arkansas State Police and Secretary of Public Safety. For that, Sanders paired the dress with a pair of caramel-hued boots that hit just below the knee. While the idea was certainly there, we’re not sure those specific boots were the right pick. Unfortunately, because they hit just below the knee while the dress hit just above it, the footwear visually cut her in half. It also added even more clutter to the already messy dress. We’d say one workaround would be over-the-knee boots, but that might have made things look even more inappropriate. As it is, in some snaps from the day, we did a double-take at just how short (and again, casual) the ‘fit was for an elected official.
Ultimately, a lot of what went wrong with this particular dress was the dress itself. While we’ve said some of her less fussy looks don’t do Sanders’ figure any favors, we’d still choose one of those over the every-detail-you-could-want-with-stripes special any day.
