7 times Melania Trump may have sent a message with her outfit choice

With Donald Trump’s presidency at an end, first lady Melania Trump has issued a goodbye message, in which she reflected on her time at the White House and called the last four years “unforgettable”.

According to the first lady, these stand-out moments include everything from visits to children’s hospitals to the alleged success of her Be Best anti-bullying campaign.

However, as many have pointed out over the last four years, some of Mrs Trump’s most poignant moments during her time as first lady have come in the form of her sartorial choices, which have continuously prompted questions about potential deeper meanings or hidden messages.

From her pussy-bow blouse to her infamous “I don’t care, do U?” jacket, these are the fashion moments and their possible meanings that stood out during Ms Trump’s time in Washington.

Pussy-bow blouse

Ms Trump’s controversial fashion choices began even before her husband took office, with the first lady first sparking headlines when she wore a pussy-bow blouse shortly after the Access Hollywood tapes leaked in 2016.

In the tapes, the president was heard saying he could "grab" women "by the pussy" because that is allowed when you are a “star”.

Just two days after the tapes were leaked, Ms Trump wore a bright-pink Gucci pussy-bow blouse to the second 2016 presidential debate.

The choice prompted accusations that Ms Trump wore the blouse purposely in light of her husband’s comments, which she later denied.

2018 State of the Union pantsuit

In 2018, it was again questioned whether Ms Trump was sending a message with her outfit choice, when she wore a white pantsuit by Christian Dior to her husband’s State of the Union address.

While the outfit would not have looked out of place at any other time, Ms Trump’s choice was in stark contrast to the outfits worn by many Democratic women, who chose to wear all black to the event in support of the “Me too” movement against sexual harassment and assault.

“I don’t care, do U?” jacket

One of the first lady’s most controversial fashion moments came in June 2018, when she donned an army green jacket adorned with bold, white letters on the back, reading: “I really don’t care, do U?” to visit migrant children who were separated from their parents and held at a detention shelter.

At the time, Ms Trump’s spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham released a statement, in which she said that there was “no hidden message” in the first lady’s outfit.

“It's a jacket," Ms Grishman said. "...After today’s important visit to Texas, I hope the media isn’t going to choose to focus on her wardrobe".

Pith helmet

The potential meanings behind Ms Trump’s sartorial choices were again raised in October 2018 during the first lady’s solo trip to Africa.

During a trip to Nairobi National Park in Kenya, the first lady opted for an outfit consisting of tan-coloured trousers, knee-length boots and white shirt for the outing.

However, it was the first lady’s decision to accessorise the look with a white pith helmet which was met with backlash, with many pointing out the helmet’s association with colonial rule.

“Melania Trump wearing a pith helmet on her trip to Africa is more than a silly sartorial choice,” one person wrote at the time.

When asked about the criticism, the first lady expressed her desire for the attention to be on what she does, rather than what she wears.

“You know what, we just completed an amazing trip, we went to Ghana, we went to Malawi, we went to Kenya, here we are in Egypt,” she said. “I want to talk about my trip and not what I wear. That’s very important what I do, what we’re doing with USAID and what I do with my initiatives.

“I wish people would focus on what I do, not what I wear.”

The response prompted further backlash, with critics urging the first lady to be more responsible with her fashion choices.

“@FLOTUS we don’t want to talk about your fashion choices either. We’d rather talk about the message you send with your fashion choices,” one person tweeted, while another said: “For a woman that knows fashion, she knows fashion speaks and sends messages, political or otherwise.”

State of the Union 2019

For the 2019 State of the Union, Ms Trump again appeared to distance herself from Democratic legislators, many of whom chose to wear white for the event, by instead wearing an all-black Burberry trench dress.

Following the event, the first lady’s stylist Hervé Pierre dismissed suggestions that Ms Trump sent a message with her outfit choice, telling WWD that he simply chose the dress because: “It’s very sharp and straight to the point. There is no room for fluff or something cute.”

Republican National Convention military jacket

For the second night of the 2020 RNC, the first lady donned an army green military-inspired double-breasted jacket with gold buttons by Alexander McQueen, which she paired with a knee-length pencil skirt in the same colour.

Almost immediately, the outfit prompted comparisons with the uniforms worn by fascist leaders, including Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, with fashion watchdog Instagram account Diet Prada suggesting the jacket signalled that Ms Trump was an “out and proud fascist”.

2020 Christmas card tuxedo

For the president and first lady’s final Christmas in the White House, Ms Trump and her husband donned matching tuxedos for their holiday portrait.

The fashion choice marked the first lady’s latest foray into menswear, which reporter Kate Bennett previously suggested is chosen when Ms Trump wants to send a message to her husband.

Writing in her biography, Free, Melania: The Unauthorized Biography, Bennett hypothesised that Ms Trump wears menswear “when the Trumps are unhappy with each other” because “Trump notoriously likes to see women in tight, short, ubersexy and feminine dresses”.

And despite Ms Trump’s denials about hidden messages, Bennett is confident that the first lady chooses her outfits with intent.

"Having covered her for as long as I have, each thing she does has meaning to it, even the clothing she wears," Bennett wrote in her book.

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