Presidential fashion Friday? Chicagoans head to Obama Center in tan suits
The Obama Foundation invited Chicagoans to come by the John Lewis Plaza Friday morning to show off their tan suits and grab some commemorative stickers.
While some visitors knew about the occasion, others wore tan suits in honor of their visit to the Obama Presidential Center—similar to the attire of some attendees at the institution’s opening. Names such as Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman and Stephen Colbert donned their tan suits on the same plaza in June.
The Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett wears a tan suit while greeting guests on “Tan Suit Day” at the John Lewis Plaza on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Woodlawn, Friday.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Why a tan suit? As Chicago Public Media special correspondent Lynn Sweet wrote in a recent column, when the former president wore a tan suit to an Aug. 28, 2014, news conference, the act launched one of Washington’s most absurd controversies.
Rachel Patel, 44, Long Grove, Ill., Stephanie McWilliam, 48, from Killdeer, Ill., and Pamela Dolan, 53, from Long Grove, Ill., wear matching tan outfits on “Tan Suit Day” at the John Lewis Plaza on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Woodlawn on Friday. They had already planned to wear the outfit inspired by former President Barack Obama when they found out about “Tan Suit Day.”
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
David Pineda, 50, a resident of Bridgeport, wears a tan suit on “Tan Suit Day” at the John Lewis Plaza on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Woodlawn on Friday.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Emani Hanserd, from Detroit, Mich., wears a tan outfit that she said looks like a “good research outfit” on “Tan Suit Day” at the John Lewis Plaza on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Woodlawn on Friday.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Monica Speight, 63, from New Jersey, smiles on “Tan Suit Day” at the John Lewis Plaza on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Woodlawn on Friday. To her, a tan suit means “Individual choices, like don’t be scared to step out of the box,” she said. “I worked in finance for years, and it’s traditional black, blue, or brown suits. So for someone to wear tan, it’s like I’m gonna do my own thing, like the Obamas did.”
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Valerie Marshall, 64, who is visiting Chicago from San Francisco, Calif., stands in her tan suit on “Tan Suit Day” at the John Lewis Plaza on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Woodlawn on Friday. “It just symbolizes someone who’s strong, someone who’s professional,” she said.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Keisha Howell, from St. Louis, Mo., wears a tan sweater and shorts on “Tan Suit Day” at the John Lewis Plaza on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Woodlawn on Friday. She said she did not know about “Tan Suit Day,” but when she found out people were wearing tan, she wanted to “be in the moment and feel historic with everyone else.”
Sweet is now on the hunt for the location of Obama’s tan suit.Please join us on this journey by sending tips, story ideas, or suggestions on who to interview. Email: tansuit@suntimes.com.
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