© 2026 ABC News

Sanders' simple look was photoshopped into the front row of a fashion show, the New York City subway and even under the sorting hat at Hogwarts.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nicolas Heller (@newyorknico)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lola Tash and Nicole Argiris (@mytherapistsays)

The mittens that made such a splash were handmade by Jen Ellis, a second grade teacher from Vermont, who gave the fleece-lined winter accessories to Sanders in 2016.

\"I take wool sweaters that would otherwise be thrown away, cut them up, piece them together -- and I line them with fleece,\" Ellis told \"Good Morning America\" of the recycled materials.

\"PHOTO:
Jonathan Ernst/Pool via Reuters
PHOTO: Senator Bernie Sanders wears mittens as he attends the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2021.
>

Her eco-friendly wool mittens first made their debut with Sen. Sanders out on the campaign trail five years ago.

Ellis said \"I was just so flattered\" when \"something that I made in my craft room with the sewing machine my mom gave to me when I was 12 made it to the national stage.\"

\"PHOTO:
Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters
PHOTO: Guests socially distance during the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021.
>

Since the viral meme exploded in popularity, Ellis has received 12,000 inquiries, and while she was honored to represent Vermont on Inauguration Day, she said more mittens are not for sale.

\"There were my mittens -- which were a statement too -- a little shout out to Vermont, a shout out to ordinary people who get up every day and might have cold hands and put on a pair of mittens right, that's who we are,\" Ellis said.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Style/woman-made-bernie-sanders-viral-inauguration-mittens-sale/story?id=75422513","legacySlug":"/style/story/woman-made-bernie-sanders-viral-inauguration-mittens-sale-75422513","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"14:45","publishDate":"01-22-2021","updatedTime":"19:33","updatedDate":"01-25-2021","socialImage":{"alt":"Former presidential candidate, Senator Bernie Sanders, sits in the bleachers on Capitol Hill before Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th President on Jan. 20, 2021, at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.","credit":"Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/bernie-sanders-inaug-gty-ps-210122_1611324152989_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"1/22/2021 14:45:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":75422513,"headline":"Bernie Sanders mittens are not for sale","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA BERNIE SANDERS MITTENS","description":"Jen Ellis is a second grade teacher from Vermont.","duration":"2:40","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/01/210122_gma_sanders_0838_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["75367594","75374275","75349618"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"January 20, 2021","headline":"Vice President Kamala Harris champions Black designer for inauguration look","section":"style","slug":"/style/story/vice-president-kamala-harris-inauguration-outfit-featured-black-75367594","id":75367594,"image":{"alt":"Vice President Kamala Harris champions Black designer for inauguration look","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/harris-pence-gty-jef-210120_1611161662259_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Alex Wong/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"January 20, 2021","headline":"Lady Gaga stuns in custom couture for Biden-Harris inauguration ","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/lady-gaga-stuns-custom-couture-biden-harris-inauguration-75374275","id":75374275,"image":{"alt":"Lady Gaga stuns in custom couture for Biden-Harris inauguration ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/lady-gaga-inauguration-01-gty-jt-210120_1611162494700_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Win McNamee/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"January 20, 2021","headline":"Jill Biden wears American-designed ensemble for Inauguration Day","section":"style","slug":"/style/story/jill-biden-wears-american-designed-ensemble-2021-inauguration-75349618","id":75349618,"image":{"alt":"Jill Biden wears American-designed ensemble for Inauguration Day","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/bidens-arrival-01-ap-jef-210120_1611159375034_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Jim Lo Scalzo/AP","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Bernie Sanders mittens are not for sale","description":"Jen Ellis is a second grade teacher from Vermont.","duration":"2:40","uploadDate":"01-22-2021","publication":"01-22-2021","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/01/210122_gma_sanders_0838_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/01/210122_gma_sanders_0838_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/style/story/woman-made-bernie-sanders-viral-inauguration-mittens-sale-75422513"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133358298","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133350119","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307515","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307527","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133282665","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133220149","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133179167","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:style:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"style","title":"Bernie Sanders mittens are not for sale","pubTime":"09:45","pubDate":"01-22-2021","modTime":"14:33","modDate":"01-25-2021","taxonomyTags":"none","id":75422513,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Bernie Sanders mittens are not for sale","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA BERNIE SANDERS MITTENS","videoId":75422513,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/style/story/woman-made-bernie-sanders-viral-inauguration-mittens-sale-75422513"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/75422513","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/75422513","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};