Why the Harris Walz Camo Hat Is Becoming a Status Symbol for Liberals
Composite: Courtesy of Harris Campaign, NATROT/GETTY IMAGES
**UPDATE: **As of 12:45 ET on August 8, the Harris campaign says they have sold 47,028 Harris-Walz camo hats totaling $1,878,524 since launch.
Previously:
Before 2015, a red hat was just a red hat. A bold choice, sure, but not one that made everyone look twice to read what was embroidered on the front of it. Then, when the MAGA hat began appearing around the country, it was a signifier of its wearer’s political and social positions. It showed their love for Donald Trump and, probably, everything he stands for. The red hat was forever changed.
As of summer 2024, the same case may be made for camouflage hats. On August 6, VP Kamala Harris posted a video asking Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to join the ticket as her vice presidential nominee. He gleefully accepted from his living room, where he was sitting on a wicker chair wearing a black t-shirt, khakis, bright white sneakers, and a camo hat. He was projecting, wittingly or not, those same everyday-person values the Republican Party has desperately tried to claim. Except he is different. He is a champion for so many issues that the party rails against – LGBTQ+ rights, abortion rights, gun reform (though he says he’s a proud gun owner), and more.
Within minutes, social media picked up on the outfit, comparing the hat to the one singer Chappell Roan sells with her merch and calling them both our countries' Midwest princesses. The campaign quickly launched a version of it on its official merch site, which they say is union-made in the United States—an important note when labor rights and climate change are at the top of the Democratic policy list. The campaign confirmed to Teen Vogue that 3,000 hats were made and sold out in 30 minutes and as of publication, nearly $1 million worth of hats have been purchased. The camo hat now has a meaning beyond what it ever did before.
Of course, the camo was everywhere before this year, from its history in military uniforms to the heads of hunters in Ohio to the fashionable streets of New York City and Los Angeles. You can buy in at an army surplus store like a Realtree or, in contrast, from luxury brands like Acne or Givenchy. It’s already a signifier of something for people who both sincerely wear the trend (maybe they hunt, or are in the military, or are just a dad who likes the woods) and people who ironically wear the pattern for fashion (they’re in on a trend that takes something not necessarily meant for style and made it fashion).
Now, young people are not only claiming it, they are changing its meaning. Where the camo cap was a symbol of conservatism, particularly because of its association with guns and the military, it now represents a different kind of freedom. Walz’s version of freedom is where you can live in a small town and “mind your own business” about what others want to do with their bodies and lives. Or Chappell Roan’s, where you can come from a small town and maintain that aspect of your identity alongside being part of the “pink pony club.”
While the Trump campaign also sells a camo hat, its weight isn’t the same. They have their sartorial symbol already. The camo hat might just be the one that breaks through for the Democrats, who haven’t had the simple signifier of shared values.
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
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