Lawmakers play it cool in seersucker

Several lawmakers draped themselves in light blue stripes on Thursday, sporting rumpled cotton garb at the Capitol in celebration of National Seersucker Day.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and several other lawmakers posed for a photo while wearing the light summer cloth in the Ohio Clock corridor.

{mosads}Staff for the lawmakers hung around the edges of the gathering, also wearing seersucker. 

Members of Congress have recognized the annual tradition since the late 1990s. After being briefly discontinued in 2012, the tradition was revived last year by then-Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) in the House.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who in 2004 urged the Senate’s female members to participate in the day, echoed the call in the Senate.

“This lightweight cotton fabric, known for its signature ‘pucker’ has been enjoyed by Americans from all walks of life during our hot summer months,” Cassidy, now also in the Senate, said in a statement entered into the Congressional Record earlier this year. 

The annual American tradition of meandering around in a seersucker, was brought to Congress in 1996 by former Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who selected a “nice and warm” day in mid to late June.

Lott, who is now a lobbyist, paid a visit to the Capitol on Thursday.

Great unexpected visit from Senator Trent Lott on National Seersucker Day. Thanks for stopping by. pic.twitter.com/dBHBBIFXCG

— Bill Cassidy (@BillCassidy) June 11, 2015

The lightweight summer suits emerged in the early 1900s, with the first one designed by New Orleans clothier Joseph Haspel, whose seersucker brand is still around. 

“Mr. Haspel said it best, ‘hot is hot, no matter what you do for a living,'” Cassidy said.

Many lawmakers conducted business on Capitol Hill wearing seersucker attire, including McConnell, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.).

In addition to McConnell, Feinstein and Cassidy, senators photographed in seersucker were Susan Collins (R-Maine), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.).

— Greg Nash contributed.