Ella Emhoff, Kamala Harris' Stepdaughter, Showed Everyone Else Up at the Inauguration

Ella Emhoff did not come to play at the inauguration. The stepdaughter of new Vice President Kamala Harris stepped out onto the national stage wearing an embellished, strong-shouldered coat, accented by an embroidered, floppy collar. A headband held back her gloriously curly, center-parted hair; a sly grin, apparent even under her black mask, radiated good vibes. Has anyone so cool ever stood among the D.C. elite?

Even before her marvelous showing today, Ella was poised to become a national style icon over the next four years. An artist and Parsons textile design student based in New York, the new Second Daughter has become something of a hero to slow fashion aficionados, sharing her distinctly art-girl tastes and handmade knitwear pieces on Instagram. Scrolling through her feed of glorious ugly-pretty selfies, seeing her flaunt her underarm hair and flash ironic smiles at the camera, it's impossible not to smile back.

Ella had previously opened up in an interview with Garage about what she might wear to the inauguration, weighing the possibility of knitting her own suit for the big day. "I want to, but like I was saying before, my style and my practice are so different, but I think I might have to just make an exception because for such a momentous occasion, I think it does require a pretty momentous outfit," she said. While she didn't end up following through with that, she definitely delivered an outfit befitting her unabashedly artsy taste.

The American people can only hope that this is the first of many legendary Ella Emhoff looks. It's about time someone arrived to shake up the staid, one-note style that's long dominated D.C.'s hallowed halls of power.