Usha Vance caused a stir on election night 2024 — but it wasn't for anything she said! Here's why her dress that night raised more than a few eyebrows.
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00:00Usha Vance caused a stir on Election Night 2024, but it wasn't for anything she said.
00:06Here's why her dress that night raised more than a few eyebrows.
00:10Throughout his time in the spotlight, J.D. Vance has noted how important his wife Usha
00:13is to him. So, on the night that Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, the vice
00:18president-elect first thanked his wife in an expost. Vance wrote,
00:22"...thank you to my beautiful wife for making it possible to do this."
00:26Late into Election Night, the Vances took the stage in West Palm Beach alongside Trump,
00:30his wife Melania, and several members of the Trump family. But of all the people onstage
00:35that night, only Usha's outfit stood out as the most inappropriate.
00:39Usha wore a monochromatic black dress. It was an off-the-shoulder piece with a low neckline
00:44that showed a lot of skin and could have easily resulted in her having an onstage wardrobe
00:48malfunction. Furthermore, she had her hair loosely tied back and wore a large chain necklace.
00:54Several photos even captured Usha standing close to Donald's daughter, Ivanka, who wore
00:58a more appropriate blue velvet suit. Usha's revealing dress was a vast departure from
01:03how she looked earlier in the day. Photographers caught the Vances casting their ballots, and
01:08Usha kept it casual in a long-sleeved brown shirt with high-waisted jeans and a slim brown
01:12belt.
01:13But just as her style had shifted from day to night, Usha underwent a similar fashion
01:18transformation during her husband's campaign for vice president. Before he was running
01:22to become vice president, J.D. Vance was studying to become a lawyer at Yale. It's
01:26there that he met his future wife.
01:28"'He wanted to know everything about me, where I came from, what my life had been like.'"
01:34While J.D. ultimately pursued a career in politics, Usha focused on a legal career after
01:39graduation and was a practicing attorney up until the summer of 2024. In late July, however,
01:44she announced she was resigning from the law firm Munger, Tahls, and Olsen. Only days after
01:49announcing she had stepped down from the firm, Usha was tapped to give a short speech
01:53at the Republican National Convention. For the event, she wore a cobalt blue dress that
01:58was slightly off the shoulder.
01:59Unlike Melania Trump, who wears a lot of expensive outfits, Usha seems to prefer more affordable
02:04clothing. The piece was a Badgley Mishka that retails at Saks Fifth Avenue for the relatively
02:08modest price of $495. According to a Badgley Mishka representative who spoke to Women's
02:14Wear Daily, Usha did not consult any designers at the brand and likely picked out the dress
02:20herself.
02:21Perhaps Usha's upbringing influenced her decision not to have a stylist for the event. She said
02:25during her speech at the RNC,
02:26"...my background is very different from J.D.'s. I grew up in San Diego in a middle-class community
02:32with two loving parents, both immigrants from India."
02:35Later in the campaign, Usha wore a red sleeveless jumpsuit at the vice presidential debate.
02:39The dress was mostly modest, except for a large bow around the collar area.
02:44Now that the campaign is over, however, it wouldn't be a surprise if Usha began adopting
02:48the fashion sensibilities of Melania and the other Trump women. After all, she'll likely
02:53be spending a lot of time with them in the years to come.