How An Indian Fabric Became A U.S. Senate Tradition

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Every summer, U.S. senators wear seersucker as part of a longstanding Senate tradition. But few people may know that the fabric at the center of the annual observance traces its origins to India.

This week, U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana led the Senate’s observance of National Seersucker Day, celebrating a fabric that has become synonymous with Southern style and summer attire in Washington.

The lawmakers introduced a resolution designating June 11 as National Seersucker Day and encouraging Americans to participate in the observance. The resolution also designates every Thursday through the last Thursday in August as “Seersucker Thursday” and declares June 2026 as “Seersucker Appreciation Month.”

While seersucker is closely associated with the American South, its story begins much farther away. According to the Senate resolution, the lightweight fabric originated in India before making its way to the United States in the mid-19th century, where it gained popularity as a practical response to summer heat.

The Senate resolution notes that the word “seersucker” is derived from the Persian phrase “shir-o-shakar,” meaning “milk and sugar,” a reference to the fabric’s alternating smooth and puckered textures. Those distinctive stripes allow air to circulate more freely, making the material particularly suited to hot and humid weather.

Seersucker became widely popular in the United States after being promoted by New Orleans businessman Joseph Haspel and eventually evolved into a hallmark of Southern fashion. Its association with Washington grew when former Senator Trent Lott launched Seersucker Thursday in Congress in 1996. After the observance went unmarked in 2012 and 2013, then-Representative Bill Cassidy, working with the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, helped revive it in 2014.

Today, the annual observance is viewed as a rare moment of bipartisan camaraderie on Capitol Hill.

“Seersucker is interwoven with the style and tradition of the South,” Warnock said. “I’m proud to continue this storied bipartisan Senate tradition of Georgia cotton, Southern charm, and fashion alongside Senator Cassidy.”

Cassidy underscored the fabric’s ties to Louisiana and the Senate. “Seersucker is a New Orleans invention, a Senate tradition, and brings a welcome moment of unity to Washington every year,” he said.

Beyond the fashion and political symbolism, the observance highlights a little-known cultural connection between India and the United States. What began as a lightweight fabric suited to India’s climate eventually became an enduring part of American summer attire and a distinctive feature of life on Capitol Hill. (IANS)

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