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visual history
July 10, 2016

A Look Back at Political-Convention Style Through the Years

By Véronique Hyland

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Photo: Lawrence Schiller/Getty Images

Short of street-style peacocks and K-pop stars, no one embraces a bold accessory quite like political conventioneers. Over the years, their red- or blue-leaning fervor has been expressed via elaborate pins — like the fluffy sunflowers worn by Goldwater fans in 1964, or the floral brooch Eleanor Roosevelt wore to stump for Adlai Stevenson in 1956.

Then there are the hats, whether that’s a Nixon boater with an ear-splittingly loud, checkered tie (an homage to Tricky Dick’s canine companion?) or the Uncle Sam toppers worn by Dewey supporters in 1948. Not many people outside a convention center could pull off, for example, a flower-bedecked hat bearing an elephant that says “Nixon’s the One!” But that’s the charming thing about political fashion: its existence outside the strict world of fashion dictates, and its lack of moderation on either side of the aisle. These images truly capture a mood and a moment. There’s a world of difference between a petit bourgeois in an “I Like Ike” jacket and hippies in cutoffs protesting Nixon, though only two decades separate them — but both are proudly making their statement.

While most shown here are civilians, there are some recognizable faces in the crowd: Warren Beatty, arguably overdressed in a leisure suit, in 1976; Chelsea Clinton, wearing a headband and clinging to her dad, in 1992; and Coretta Scott King supporting Jimmy Carter, in 1976. Click through the slideshow to see a half century’s worth of unconventional convention style statements.

*A version of this article appears in the July 11, 2016 issue of New York Magazine.

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1 / 28 Photos
Republican National Convention 1948 Dewey supporters dressed as Uncle Sam, Philadelphia. Photo: Ralph Morse/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Im... Republican National Convention 1948 Dewey supporters dressed as Uncle Sam, Philadelphia. Photo: Ralph Morse/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
RNC 1952 An Eisenhower jacket, Chicago. Photo: Eve Arnold/Magnum Photos
RNC 1956 Young women posing in dresses made from Eisenhower campaign stickers, San Francisco. Photo: Ed Clark/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ... RNC 1956 Young women posing in dresses made from Eisenhower campaign stickers, San Francisco. Photo: Ed Clark/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
RNC 1964 A pair of Goldwater fans at the Cow Palace, Daly City, California. Photo: Lawrence Schiller/Getty Images
RNC 1968 Inside the hall, Miami Beach. Photo: Grey Villet/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
RNC 1972 Nixon supporter, Miami Beach. Photo: Sahm Doherty/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
RNC 1972 Protesters outside the GOP convention, Miami Beach. Photo: Paul Slade/Paris Match via Getty Images
RNC 1976 Members of the Michigan delegation, Kansas City. Photo: Richard Kalvar/Magnum Photos
RNC 1980 A woman wearing pro-Bush glasses, Detroit. Photo: Dirck Halstead/Liaison/Getty Images
RNC 1992 1992: Ronald and Nancy Reagan arrive in Houston. Photo: Pat Sullivan/AP Photo
RNC 1992 Paula Poundstone reporting for The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Houston. Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
RNC 1996 Elizabeth Dole and her stepdaughter, Robin, cheering for Nancy Reagan, San Diego. Photo: Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo
RNC 1996 Patriotic sunglasses, San Diego. Photo: Philip Jones Griffiths/Magnum Photos
Democratic National Convention 1912 Bennett Clark, son of Champ (who lost the nod to Woodrow Wilson), Baltimore. Photo: Library of Congress
DNC 1956 Eleanor Roosevelt and Adlai Stevenson, Chicago. Photo: Burt Glinn/Magnum Photos
DNC 1956 Jackie Kennedy, Jean Kennedy Smith, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Chicago. Photo: AP Photo
DNC 1956 Jackie Kennedy, Chicago. Photo: Howard Sochurek/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
DNC 1960 John F. Kennedy, Los Angeles. Photo: The Estate of Garry Winogrand/Courtesy of Fraenkel Gallery; San Francisco
DNC 1964 Johnson supporter, Atlantic City. Photo: John Dominis/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
DNC 1968 Ted Kennedy supporter, Chicago. Photo: Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
DNC 1968 Two young Alabama Democrats, Chicago. Photo: Vernon Merritt III/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
DNC 1968 Roosevelt Grier (right) and actress Shirley MacLaine, Chicago. Photo: AP Photo
DNC 1972 Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug, Miami Beach. Photo: Bill Eppridge/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
DNC 1976 Coretta Scott King, New York. Photo: Elliott Erwitt/Magnum Photos
DNC 1976 Warren Beatty, New York. Photo: George Rose/Getty Images
DNC 1980 Reporter Sally Quinn, New York. Photo: Diana Walker/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
DNC 1992 Bill and Chelsea Clinton, New York Photo: Amy Sancetta/Ap Photo
DNC 1996 Hillary Clinton, Chicago. Photo: Carol Guzy/The Washington Post/Getty Images
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  • republican national convention
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