As chief of staff for Rep. Dan Goldman, a Democrat from New York, Haley Scott is always on the move. “I literally spend all day on my feet running around,” she tells ELLE.com. Describing the long tunnels and slippery sloped pathways around the sprawling campus of the Capitol, she adds: “A week into this job, I realized I can never wear heels.”
Hannah Berner echoes that sentiment in her role as senior policy advisor for Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat from Colorado. When Congress is in session, the 34-year-old ping-pongs between meetings and hearings on the Hill. “Members of Congress walk very quickly,” she says. “My boss likes to take the stairs.” What’s more, important conversations happen on the go. “If you’re wearing heels and you can’t keep up with them, then you’re not really paying attention to what they are saying,” she adds. “You’re thinking, How am I going to make it these next few steps?”
These staffers on either side of the political aisle have come up with the same shoe solution: Rothy’s, the San Francisco-based company that makes knit styles from recycled plastic water bottles. “They are very, very comfortable,” Scott says of the two pairs in her closet, calling them “the right size and shape—I can wear them all day.” Berner, for her part, has amassed a collection of five, including the pointed-toe flat, the loafers, and the Mary Janes. “They go with everything,” she says.
In the throes of a contentious presidential campaign, at a time when Washington is deeply divided, Rothy’s is the shoe that gets D.C.’s sartorial vote. The brand has become ubiquitous on Capitol Hill and beyond. Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, has been spotted in them walking her dog and delivering food in Queens; Rep. Kat Cammack, a Republican from Florida, recently wore them to a distribution center in Osceola. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer chose Rothy’s for a backyard campaign stop for Kamala Harris in California, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton styled them to walk the red carpet at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.
Hillary Clinton wears Rothy’s at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.
The appeal of Rothy’s—according to everyone from Hill staffers to lobbyists to canvassers in swing states—is the sorely needed combination of fashion and function. Valentina Perez, a 30-year-old political consultant, is unapologetic about her love for her leopard-print pointed-toe flats. “They’re within my style, but they’re fun,” she says, emphasizing the added oomph to an otherwise straightforward outfit. “They elevate the look and still go with a lot of things.” Perez has been wearing Rothy’s since 2018, when she first bought a pair of black flats for around $150. “They were definitely an investment at that price point,” she says, echoing a sentiment many D.C. customers shared. Ultimately, however, it was well worth it; Perez points to the fact that she still wears that same pair all these years later.
Politically-minded customers, specifically those in D.C., want a “professional-looking shoe and also one that fits her personal style but isn’t too flashy,” says Jamie Gersch, Rothy’s chief marketing officer. The black pointed-toe flat is a top seller in the market, as is the Mary Jane style, in both black and an ivory shade called “Gardenia.” Fans of the brand often come back for more—in fact, 39 percent of its customers own more than one pair.
The company’s tenets, with an all-female executive team and a commitment to sustainability, also resonate, as does the fact that the shoes are machine washable. “We’re all very functional, practical people,” says Emily Amick, a D.C.-based political influencer, lawyer, and former counsel to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Amick owns 10 pairs of the loafers, three of which she bought herself and the rest earned by credits she received when referring new customers to Rothy’s. Amick says she was drawn to the brand by its promise of sustainability, but the washability has kept her coming back. “The ability to throw a pair of shoes in the washer and have them come out looking good is so convenient,” she admits.
Style-wise, Rothy’s also meets the necessary level of formality, something D.C. has maintained in a post-pandemic era, when most cities have leaned more casual. “The Hill is one of the last bastions of businesswear,” Amick posits, recalling a time she wore sneakers to the Senate floor following knee surgery and was not allowed in. “Rothy’s still look formal,” she says, “but they feel less so.”
Two different styles of Rothy’s and the brand’s Petite Classic Tote.
And feeling is key, given the physicality of political jobs. “We will put 15,000 steps on our watches just walking around to different offices,” says Anne MacMillan, a 45-year-old lobbyist who lives in Potomac, Maryland. The biggest source of strain is not the steps, but the surface. “The halls of Congress are marble and they are awful,” she adds. “Slamming down on marble for eight hours is incredibly painful in high heels.” Outside the Capitol is not much better, with a series of steps and uneven brick pathways. Her male counterparts, clad in more comfortable shoes, are often blissfully unaware of the challenges. “I don’t want to be slowing down the group, toddling over in my heels,” MacMillan says.
D.C. has seen an influx of fashion in the last decade or so, she says, thanks in large part to Rent the Runway (a particularly helpful resource for those on government salaries). MacMillan has embraced the rental model wholeheartedly. “I like to try all the new things,” she says. Her black pointed-toe Rothy’s fit into that approach with a look that blends easily. “They make you more comfortable and allow you to have a little bit more fun up top,” she says. And for the times that heels are called for, Rothy’s are the perfect swap-out shoe, lightweight enough to throw into a handbag.
Outside of the Beltway, Rothy’s are coming in handy on the campaign trail. Rachel Hochstetler, a California native who now lives in South Bend, Indiana, drives regularly to nearby Michigan to volunteer for the Kamala Harris and Tim Walz campaign. Her favorite shoe to wear is her white lace-up Rothy’s sneakers. “I walk several miles while we’re canvassing and I have no problems, no blisters,” the 38-year-old mother of three says. She points to the sustainability of Rothy’s, made from recycled materials, as another unspoken message promoting the ticket’s emphasis on climate change. But what has kept her shopping with the brand—she has a pair of leopard-print flats and is currently eyeing a new style—is how long they have lasted. The white sneakers wash easily, looking like new whenever needed. “It’s style meets function meets value.”
Elizabeth Holmes is the New York Times bestselling author of HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style, an exploration of the power of fashion inspired by her popular Instagram series. A veteran multimedia reporter, Elizabeth spent a decade on staff at The Wall Street Journal. She is a contributing editor at Town & Country; her work has also appeared in a host of other outlets, including the New York Times, the Financial Times, and ELLE. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three young children.