From cheese heads to corn crowns to battery-powered LED-bedazzled cowboy hats, what would a political party convention be without funny hats? 

Dressing up in creative ways has become as much a tradition at the conventions as spellbinding speeches and boisterous, state-by-state roll-call votes. And many delegates attending the Democratic National Convention are trying to represent their home state in unconventional ways. 

What You Need To Know

  • Delegates at the 2024 Democratic National Convention have embraced a tradition of dressing up in dapper decorated hats

  • From cheesehads to corn crowns to battery-powered LED-bedazzled cowboy hats, convention costums are a tradition usd to show enthusiasm, showcase home states and pay tribute to loved ones

  • While some are expected, like Wisconsinites wearing blocks of cheas, others reference viral memes, like Vice President Kamala Harris's "coconut tree" anecdote

“We Washingtonians, we love our music and we love our Beyonce. And so in our last country album, she had Cowboy Carter," said Ashley Fedan, a delagate from Washington. "We're throwing down Cowboy Kamala, complete with hat. And because we truly – in our state – we believe that freedom is on the ballot."

Decked out hats have been part of the scenery at both the Democratic and Republican national conventions for decades, whether the haberdashery is homemade or commissioned.

“I think it's fun to get excited. There's a vitality, there's excitement. There's…really the old spirit of democracy and excitement for our two party system," said California delegate Matthew Rothschild, who wore a star-spangled hat bearing a Harris-Walz banner. "And that's what we really should have in our country.”

For some, the attire is more personal. Jen Carter, also a delegate from Washington, dressed up in honor of both her mother and one of her own formative memories.

 “I'm originally from Long Island in New York, and I was a little girl in 1986 at the Statue of Liberty centennial celebration. My mom dressed up as the Statue of Liberty at that celebration," Carter said, wearing her own rendition of Lady Liberty’s green copper gown, as well as a flashing, light-up crown. "I'm doing this as an homage to my mom, who was a union teacher for 37 years in North Babylon School district.”

Others, like Florida delegate Barbara Katz, are running with a handful of inspirations, including cues from social media memes.

“It includes a number of important symbols, such as the coconut palm trees. Because of that wonderful meme of Kamala Harris about, did you just fall out of a coconut tree? So I've got that on it,” Katz said of her relatively-subdued chapeau, which exists in the context of an anecdote the vice president shared about her own mother — an anecdote that’s since gone viral.