It was a day for high fashion at the ILIR rally, when a t-shirt and button had the power to communicate a hoped-for future. DEBBIE McGOLDRICK was there to spot the trends.

GUCCI? Prada? Versace? Those brands are so over!

Last Wednesday at the ILIR day in Washington, the trendy, must-have fashion item came in the form of a white Hanes t-shirt emblazoned with big green letters proclaiming “Legalize the Irish.Org.” And many of the Irish fashionistas in the nation’s capital further accessorized their look with green buttons showing their support for the Kennedy/McCain immigration bill.

Call it Celtic Couture — a fashion and political statement all rolled into one. Total cost for the look? About $12. You won’t find a bargain like that on the racks at Barneys!

Thousands of the shirts and buttons were scooped up by the ILIR activists who made their way to Capitol Hill from over the country. And they weren’t the only ones who wanted in on the hot new goods.

The first style-conscious politician who fell for the ILIR duds was Congressman Anthony Weiner, the New York Democrat who many pundits peg as a front-runner in the 2009 New York City mayoral race.

Tall and lanky and quite obviously full of fun, when Weiner took to the podium to speak at the ILIR political rally in the Holiday Inn he first posed a question.

“Mind if I get comfortable and take my jacket off?” he asked. A few whistles and cheers followed as the 41-year-old bachelor slowly removed his navy suit coat, only to replace it with an ILIR t-shirt that fit like a glove.

The thousands of ILIR activists jammed into the ballroom erupted in whoops of delight at his chic new look, and officially anointed Weiner the first supermodel of the day. The Brooklyn pol used his smart political instincts — and eye for fashion — to play the audience like a violin.

Proving that his future definitely goes beyond a possible spread in GQ magazine, Weiner thrilled the audience with his words.

“I have never in all my years here seen a gathering like the one you have here today. Be proud!” he said.

“We want to follow the law, now let’s pass the law!” More cheers.

“We have the opportunity to right the wrongs. We should legalize the Irish NOW, create a guest worker program NOW, so we have a better country NOW!”

A hard act to follow for sure, but if anyone was up for the challenge it was old reliable Congressman Joe Crowley, another Democrat from the Empire State.

Joe, a gentle giant of a man, found his ILIR tee to be a bit snug. Actually, he was bursting out of it.

“Does anyone have triple-XL in the house?” he laughed. “These extra-extra larges never fit me!”

Nonetheless he kept the shirt on and cracked some jokes. “All of you attacked Capitol Hill today,” he said. “I heard about an ILIR contingent coming to my office. Now, whoever stole my Waterford Crystal shamrock, please bring it back!”

His audience was loving it, and the feeling was mutual. “I am so proud of you all!” Crowley enthused. “Whenever there’s been a fight worth fighting the Irish have always been there, not only for themselves but for all people.”

And with that, a political rock star made her appearance. Senator Hillary Clinton came through a side door — at this stage it was a mission impossible for anyone to get near the main ballroom entrance with the overflow crowd — and felt the love immediately.

Stamping, screaming, whooping, chants of “Hillary,” and “Ole, Ole.” It was political intoxication to the max. No wonder earlier speaker Senator John McCain said of his similar greeting, “This recognition is enough to make a guy want to run for president of the United States!”

Clinton waited for her turn on the podium, and when Crowley wrapped up ILIR founder and Chairman Niall O’Dowd joked that the best way to clear a room would be to ask Crowley to sing.

Was that a challenge? The crowd seemed to think so, and chants of “Joe, Joe,” and “C’mon, sing a song!” ripped through the place.

Clinton egged the crowd on further, standing on her feet and pointing at her New York colleague. She even did a little dance — all she needed was a song to groove to.

The heat was on. Joe gave in.

He sang one verse of the Irish favorite “The Harp That Once.” A musician in his spare time away from Congress, Crowley, the son of Irish immigrants, did himself proud. And yes — another standing ovation followed.

O’Dowd then introduced Clinton as one of the greatest friends Ireland has ever had, and the senator was gratified by the raucous reception she received.

It took several minutes for the “Ole” chants to stop. “I’m here to announce my surrender!” she said. “There has never been an Irish presence here like we’ve had today. As I was wandering the Senate halls I ran into a group of you from Rockland County. It is so heartening to see you all!”

Clinton’s speech was highly anticipated as it marked the first time she spoke publicly about her stance on immigration reform. And her words didn’t disappoint the audience, as she clearly stated her support for legalizing the undocumented.

“It’s one of the more important debates in our country right now,” she said, “and I think we can do it right.”

And then, an ILIR t-shirt for the senator. She didn’t try it on — hair and make-up to consider, after all — but held it up and beamed as the cameras clicked. After the photo-ops she curled the shirt up under her arm and took it with her.

Right on cue, another icon then came to speak to the Irish. Senator Edward Kennedy, co-author of the immigration bill bearing his name, electrified the ballroom, and he fed off the high-wattage current.

Kennedy took his ILIR t-shirt and waved it all around the place, like a red flag to a bull. “Legalize the Irish” he shouted, and no one could disagree.

The senator was definitely on a high. “I’m going right back to the Senate after this to go pass a bill so you can all get legalized!” he thundered. You guessed it — the place went bananas.

“If there was any trouble with the Irish in 1848 when my great, great grandparents came, well, they didn’t let it get in the way when they arrived in Boston, Massachusetts! And we’re going to do the same for you!”

Screams and more screams. Any guests trying to rest in the hotel’s upstairs bedrooms would definitely be wondering what the heck was going on down below.

Any kind of scripts the politicians brought with them pretty much went out the window. There was no need to be so formal with this crowd. The pols were among friends.

And so Kennedy started reminiscing about his brother President John F. Kennedy’s trip to Ireland in 1963. “Seeing all of you, I can’t help but remember the president’s trip. What a trip it was. He couldn’t stop talking about it when he came back.” A poignant reminder for sure that the Kennedys and Irish America will forever be linked together in the annals of history.

Joe Hackett, the first secretary at the Irish Embassy in Washing-ton, D.C. who has criss-crossed the country in the past few months attending ILIR meetings and eloquently putting forth the Irish government’s support for immigration reform, took to the stage with an official looking type of accessory.

Hackett was armed with a white document about two inches thick. He held it up high to show the audience. What was it?

“This,” Hackett said, “is your future.”

And he was right. The document, all 305 pages of it, was a copy of the “chairman’s mark” immigration bill that the Senate Judiciary Committee was in the process of debating at that very minute. The result of those deliberations in the next few weeks will tell much about whether the Irish undocumented will have a chance to become fully-fledged members of American society.

“The Judiciary members are going through this bill line by line,” Hackett advised. “And today, every single member knows the Irish care about every single line because they’ve met you. Your presence here today is making a difference. Together, the ILIR, Irish government and you, we can get this done.”

One of the biggest cheers of the day came for one of the biggest heroes New York City has ever produced. NYPD Detective Steven McDonald, paralyzed from the neck down since 1986 when he was shot on the job by a pack of criminals, made the trip to the ILIR rally from his home on Long Island because he considers the cause to be so important.

He was saluted by the politicians as a shining star, and an example of how it is possible to overcome adversity no matter what the odds.

And McDonald’s button naturally summed up the day’s message. Irish for Kennedy/ McCain. Legalize the Irish. Very stylish, and very politically correct.