Bernie Sanders Rewears Mittens by a Vermont Teacher to the Inauguration

The fashion credits have been coming in hot in the lead up to today’s inauguration. We know that Vice President Kamala Harris is wearing Christopher John Rogers. Her stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, has opted for a coat by Miu Miu and a dress by Batsheva, and former first lady Michelle Obama is sporting Sergio Hudson. And then there is Bernie Sanders. The lovingly ruffled Vermont senator attended today’s inauguration in a signature pared-back look—what else would we expect from him?

Ready for the brisk temperature in the low 40s, he opted for a light brown jacket from the Vermont-based company Burton, with his black suit jacket poking out from under the coat. But the best part of the look was Sanders’s mittens. The large brown-and-cream knit pair had a vague nod to a Fair Isle pattern, while the palms boasted blue and white hues. There is a sweet story behind them too: They were created by Jen Ellis, a teacher from Vermont, who noted on Twitter that she made them from repurposed wool from sweaters and later lined them with fleece made from recycled plastic bottles.

In addition to being charmingly loyal to his state, Sanders is also a serial outfit repeater, following in the famed footsteps of Kate Middleton and actress Tiffany Haddish. The 79-year-old wore the jacket during a presidential-campaign stop in Utah last March; the senator also wore the mittens to the Women’s March in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, last January. The look feels Bernie to the core, no fuss and no flash, just down to the basics. And in Sanders’s case, nothing looks as good on him as his signature anti-fashion style.