Did you spot the hidden message on Justin Trudeau's socks?

Oh Canada

justin trudeau socks
(Image credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Oh Canada

Justin Trudeau - Obama’s bestie, beautiful human and the Canadian prime minister - is letting his clothes do all the talking. His sense of style hasn’t gone unnoticed and while some politicians go all out on their ties and pantsuits, Trudeau prefers to inject a dose of personality into his sock choices. His most recent pair worn at Toronto’s Pride Parade have attracted a lot of attention recently for the hidden message knitted into them.

A photo posted by on

Trudeau was only the second Canadian prime minister to march in the LGBT parade and while he didn’t go full on glitter for the event, he did wear some rainbow socks to show his support. However if you look a little closer, the socks actually have the words ‘Eid Mubarak’ written on them in white.

justin trudeau socks

Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock
(Image credit: Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock)

It’s an Arabic expression which celebrates Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, which happened to fall on the same day as the Pride Parade. His socks were doing double duty - celebrating both the LGBT and Muslim community - and the trend caught on with other parliamentary officials like Randy Boissonnault who wore a similar pair.

This isn’t the first time that Trudeau has used his socks to make a statement. For example, he rocked up to a meeting with many senior officials sporting bright red maple leaf socks modelled after the Canadian flag in 2015. At a more recent NATO meeting, he showed up wearing mismatched blue and pink NATO socks. His lighter choices have included an R2D2 and C3PO pair to celebrate Star Wars Day as well as his collection of multicoloured skull socks - you know, to give him a bit of edge.

Dressing to make a subtle statement has long been a tradition in politics - for example, Jeremy Corbyn’s hardly ever seen without a Labour red tie and the same goes for Donald Trump’s Republican crimson necktie. The Queen even got in on the fun with a floral EU hat that could have been a hint as to her Brexit leanings. Hillary Clinton however stole the show at Donald Trump’s inauguration by showing up in an all-white pantsuit, a colour strongly aligned with the suffragettes of old.

So next time you see Trudeau in photographs, drag your eyes away from his beaming face for a second to see what his socks are saying.

Megan C. Hills

Megan is a freelance journalist who covers entertainment and all things lifestyle, with a particular passion for fashion, beauty, travel and Keanu Reeves stories. She has previously worked on staff for titles including Marie Claire UK, CNN Style and The Evening Standard and has written for titles such as Bustle UK, Wallpaper*, Forbes and Hong Kong Tatler. She splits her time between London and her hometown Hong Kong, where she currently lives with the love of her life - an elderly dog named Poppy - and her husband.