U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, wrapped up in a winter coat and mittens at the presidential inauguration, is now a fashion icon for looking like he was running an errand at the historic event.

Amid a sea of designer coats, the 79-year-old senator made a sartorial statement on Wednesday by showing up in a jacket by snowboarding equipment company Burton and home-made wool mittens, carrying a large brown envelope.

An image of Sanders sitting arms and legs crossed, captured by AFP, inspired netizens to place him in both familiar and unlikely settings. His practical Vermont dad look became an instant meme.

"Your uncle Bernie stepped out to the bodega for a cream cheese and lox bagel and got trapped at an inauguration," Lester Kiewit wrote in a tweet.