New York congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she won her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives because of all the doors she knocked on.
And she’s got her shoes to prove it.
The 29-year-old’s first pair of shoes she wore on the campaign trail are now making fashion history as part of the Cornell Costume Collection, in the exhibit titled “WOMEN EMPOWERED: Fashions from the Frontline.”
The exhibit, which will debut on December 6th, calls on women to submit items of clothing that have empowered them in the past. Other items include collars from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a gown from suffrage activist Olivia “Livy” Langdon, a skirt owned by Janet Reno and the inaugural suit of Texas governor Ann Richards, among others.
Back in June, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted a picture of her pair of shoes: beaten, worn-out and with hole-filled soles.
“Here’s my 1st pair of campaign shoes, ” she said. “I knocked doors until rainwater came through my soles. Respect the hustle. We won (because) we out-worked the competition. Period.”
“These shoes represent the hard work, dedication, determination, and commitment of the youngest woman ever elected to Congress,” the Cornell Costume Collection posted.