tan suit – From Stephen Colbert to Rep. Bill Foster, guests at the Obama Presidential Center opening ceremony on Thursday leaned into a decades-old fashion joke tied to President Barack Obama’s 2014 “taupe” controversy—one the former president now says he owns.
On Thursday, hours before the Grand Opening Ceremony on the South Side, the Obama Presidential Center became the unlikely setting for a familiar punchline: the tan suit.
It wasn’t subtle. Actor and comedian Stephen Colbert wore a tan suit at the event. State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford did, too. Martin Nesbitt, the Obama Foundation board chair, also stepped out in a tan look. U.S. Rep. Bill Foster rounded out the visible tribute. all appearing in tan suits as guests and celebrities paid homage during the opening ceremony.
The nod lands against a sharp memory from 2014, when then-President Barack Obama—at an Aug. 28 press conference discussing foreign policy—wore what later became a viral shorthand for the era’s style drama. During that appearance, Obama wore “a beige-colored jacket and a gray, striped tie,” a description highlighted by PolitiFact. Social media ran with it. “Yes we tan!” some wags joked, while others quipped “Taupe and Change.”.
Commentary at the time also cut deeper than fashion. Some critics questioned whether the military-adjacent color matched the seriousness of the topic. and one Republican Congressman called it “unpresidential.” But the argument never stuck for long. Tan suits had long appeared on presidents of both parties. including Ronald Reagan. without the same level of uproar—before cable news had social media amplification built into every moment.
Even so, the “tan suit” joke outlasted the day it started. Years later, some Democratic politicians embraced the look, including then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who wore it during her own nominating convention to the presidency in 2024.
At the Obama Presidential Center, the symbolism is softer than the original controversy—more celebration than grievance. The suit itself is not preserved or presented at the center, but the crowd’s styling turned the old headline into a kind of living tribute.
And Obama’s own reaction, delivered in a recent exchange with comedian Stephen Colbert—who, fittingly, wore beige at the ceremony—was blunt and warm. “Listen, I own that tan suit proudly, brother!” he said.
Obama Presidential Center tan suit Stephen Colbert Bill Foster La Shawn K. Ford Obama Foundation Kamala Harris PolitiFact Barack Obama taupe and change