By now, you’ve probably seen the controversy over Rama Duwaji‘s boots.
The New York Post spotted them first. Hours after Duwaji stood beside her husband Zohran Mamdani as he was sworn in as New York City’s 112th mayor, the tabloid zeroed in on her feet. The boots she wore to the midnight ceremony—black leather Miista Shelleys with a lace-up back and sculpted block heel—retail for $630.
“Socialist Zohran Mamdani’s wife appears to wear luxury $630 boots to swearing-in ceremony,” the headline read.
The Post called the look “more socialite than socialist.” The subtext was clear: the new mayor preaches affordability, but his wife parades in designer footwear.
Critics piled on. “Socialism for thee, but not for me,” one user wrote on X.
Then the White House weighed in.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted about Duwaji’s boots on her Instagram, calling the couple “classic Communists” and writing: “They want New Yorkers to hand over more than half their income to the government—while she wears designer boots worth your weekly paycheck.”
Except Duwaji didn’t buy the boots.
Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, the stylist who dressed Duwaji for her first public appearances as First Lady, clarified on her website that the entire outfit was borrowed or rented. The Miista boots were on loan from the brand. The vintage Balenciaga coat came from Albright Fashion Library. Even the archival earrings were rented from New York Vintage.
“I’m just going to have to get comfortable with the fact that people on the internet do not understand what being lent a sample means,” Karefa-Johnson wrote.
Suddenly, the story changed. What was framed as hypocrisy turned out to be the opposite—an outfit assembled without a single purchase.
But Leavitt’s attack invited scrutiny of her own.
Users on X were quick to point out the press secretary’s wardrobe
Leavitt is no stranger to designer labels herself. She’s been photographed in Jimmy Choo pumps that retail for $1,125, carrying a Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag worth over $2,000, and wearing a Gucci watch priced at $1,580. Her Dior Lady D-Lite bag costs $5,300. One expert estimated her diamond cross necklace at $50,000
Most of Leavitt’s go-to brands aren’t even American—Louis Vuitton is French, Jimmy Choo is British, Gucci is Italian. This from a press secretary for an administration that has made “Made in USA” a rallying cry.
Others flooded the Post’s replies with images of Melania Trump’s inauguration looks, including custom pieces by Hervé Pierre and Ralph Lauren. Several asked why the tabloid had never run a similar price check on the former First Lady.
The story was supposed to be about hypocrisy. It became a story about borrowed clothes—and who’s really wearing designer.
