 "Inauguration Day: How Melania Trump made a statement with her business dressing")
All eyes are on Donald Trump, as he marks a historic return to the White House. Standing right next to him on this important day is incoming First Lady Melania Trump.
Days before the inauguration, there was a lot of buzz in the fashion circles about what Mrs Trump would wear. Here’s what she opted for on a freezing day in Washington DC.
The Inauguration Day outfit
The Trumps were first seen when they headed to St John’s Church to attend a service, as is tradition for centuries. The soon-to-be first lady was seen wearing a navy blue dress and coat by New York designer Adam Lippes. She wore a white wrap top underneath her coat.
She also sported a bloater-style hat with a white ribbon by another American designer Eric Javits. With that, her eyes were somewhat hidden. She paired the chic outfit with matching pumps and small diamond earrings.
The headgear became the talk of fashion circles with analyst Ellie Violet Bramley writing in the BBC that it had “main character energy”.
Melania looked stylish and her supporters called her “Dark MAGA on social media”.
The Inauguration weekend
The Trumps have had a busy weekend ahead of Inauguration Day.
On January 18, at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, Melania wore a Dior overcoat and a Dolce & Gabbana suit. She is known to be a fan of the two labels.
On the eve of the inauguration, the Trumps along with incoming vice president JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Ceremony in Virginia. There the soon-to-be FLOTUS wore a buttoned trench along with a cape, black boots and leather gloves.
Later in the day, Donald and Melania Trump attended a candlelight dinner at the National Building Museum in DC. She changed into a black sequin Carolina Herrera skirt, a Dolce & Gabbana shirt and a black-tie style Saint Laurent cape, reports Standard UK.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAhead of the inauguration, Melania was reportedly “swamped” with offers of free clothing from nearly every major US fashion house. Even European couture brands, including Versace and Christian Dior, were reaching out to her, reports Daily Mail.
The first inauguration in 2017
A lot has changed since the first inauguration. Back then, many American designers refused to work with Melania because many believed their values did not align with the Trumps.
She finally turned to American Ralph Lauren designer Ralph Lauren. The former fashion model wore a powder blue dress and a matching bolero jacket to the 2017 oath-taking ceremony. She matched it with gloves, Manolo Blahnik stilettos and an elegant updo.
“Mrs. Trump really shocked the world in 2017, at the swearing-in, in that powder blue Ralph Lauren suit that was very evocative of a Jackie Kennedy suit, and seemed to really suggest that she had studied the role of the first lady,” Vanessa Friedman, the New York Times’s chief fashion critic, was quoted as saying by ABC News.
Ralph Lauren a long-time Democrat provided the dress with a sense of duty to the office of the president, reports the BBC. However, it did not go down well with everyday Americans with many using #boycottralphlauren on social media.
The man behind Melania’s fashion choices
Hervé Pierre has been Melania’s stylist, first designing her inauguration gown during Trump’s first term. The former creative director of Carolina Herrara took on the styling job, his first, reports Standard.
A lot of what Melania wore, especially during her first time as First Lady, was purchased since luxury fashion houses refused to work with her. At the end of the four years, Pierre said, “It has been an honour to dress the First Lady. [The role] was totally unexpected.”
“I met her for the first time on Jan 3 and on Jan 7, she asked me to design the gown for the inauguration four years ago. I had 11 or 12 days, because we had to do the fitting and deliver it. She didn’t give me so much information so I was swimming in fog.”
With inputs from agencies
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