Times Melania Trump Appeared to Send Messages With Her Fashion Choices

The October 2016 presidential debate came two days after the “Access Hollywood” tape leaked showing Donald Trump using an explicit term in 2005, saying he could “grab” women “by the p——” because “when you’re a star they let you do it.” At the event, Melania Trump wore a $1,100 pink Gucci shirt whose large bow shared a name with the word Trump was recorded using, smiling beside her husband.

In “Free, Melania: The Unauthorized Biography,” author Kate Bennett wrote that the blouse was a peak example of no coincidences in Melania Trump’s wardrobe choices.

Melania’s powder-blue Ralph Lauren ensemble immediately drew comparisons to former first lady and American fashion icon Jackie Kennedy.

Bennett wrote that this was one of the outfits the first lady worked on the most, and that it came straight from her own vision of how she would like to be officially introduced to the world.

The first lady raised eyebrows with outfits that were stark opposites of purpose-driven color schemes.

In 2018, she wore a white pantsuit that stood out in a sea of Democrats, who were clad in black in honor of the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements.

At the 2019 State of the Union, Melania Trump wore a black Burberry coatdress, the opposite of the white outfits worn on the other side of the aisle to celebrate women’s suffrage.

Though her exact intention in selecting the outfits is still unclear, the pictures show a first lady who is unafraid to stand out.

One such possible hint lay in the Hervé Pierre green dress that Bennett wrote could have been in honor of the Jordanian flag while she greeted Queen Rania in Washington.

Despite an apparently obvious connection, Bennett wrote that, per usual, “everyone would have to settle with the gray area because Melania stayed typically mum on her outfit choices.”

The Saint Laurent python belt later sold out after enjoying the spotlight on the Trumps’ May 2017 trip.

Bennett wrote that the statement touches were “as if to say, ‘Hey, Saudi Arabia, friend. We like gold, you like gold, we get you. Everything is cool.'”

Bennett wrote that Melania Trump upped the ante on styling at the 2017 G7 Summit by perching her coat on her shoulders, which limits her range of motion and highlights that she is able to get doors opened and things carried for her.

The Dolce & Gabbana jacket was also one of the most expensive looks the first lady has worn with a price of $51,500.

Bennett wrote that, unlike Melania Trump’s first predecessor Michelle Obama, the first lady hasn’t gone to lengths to highlight regionally specific designers based on the destination, but rather picks an outfit based on the nature of the appearance.

One of the first lady’s favorite location-specific choices is wearing Dior in its native Paris. On her first trip to France as first lady, she wore a suit jacket and skirt in the luxury house’s signature silhouette and a head-to-toe red that could be taken as a nod to the Republican Party or to one-third of the French flag.

In her first term, Melania Trump took up Michelle Obama’s cause of hosting events emphasizing healthy food and active childhoods. For one event in the White House Garden in 2017, she wore Converse sneakers and a casual plaid shirt.

However, the first lady became a target for critics who tracked down the shirt, which was made by French fashion house Balmain and retailed for $1,380.

The casual-but-luxe shirt appeared to stay true to the high-end wardrobe she was used to, but with the new consciousness of being officially on display.

Melania Trump wore the green Zara jacket while departing to visit children held in an immigration facility in Texas.

The jacket sparked fierce backlash when it was spotted on the first lady’s trip to the border amid controversy over the administration’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy.

Months after the jacket’s debut, the first lady said in a candid interview with ABC News that she thought it was “obvious” the jacket’s message was not “for the children,” but instead was intended for the left-wing media.

Melania Trump attended the fourth night of the Republican National Convention after skipping the first three.

The red skirt suit, designed by Christian Dior, appeared to signal Melania Trump’s return to the national stage and readiness to fill the role of first lady once again.

Lauren A. Rothman, a style strategist and image coach, previously told Business Insider that Melania Trump “understood the assignment” with her look.

Melania Trump accessorized her navy-blue coat by Adam Lippes with a wide-brimmed hat designed by Eric Javits at Donald Trump’s second inauguration.

“It’s a time of some restraint, and it’s really sort of a turning point to more conservative values,” Javits told ABC News of the context for his hat design.

Rothman previously told BI that the hat “bridges her worlds together” with a summery shape reminiscent of Mar-a-Lago and the use of dark wool fabric suited to the more solemn role of first lady.

Photographer Régine Mahaux previously told BI that her portrait of Melania Trump shows the first lady as “an active, hardworking woman” who is “ready to embrace her position.”

Menswear-inspired looks have become a signature style during Melania Trump’s second tenure as first lady as a form of “power dressing,” BI’s Amanda Krause wrote.

Melania Trump’s pinstriped, double-breasted skirt suit evoked the historical military uniforms featured in the US Army’s 250th anniversary parade in June. The outfit was created by Adam Lippes, an American designer, in a likely nod to American history and the US Army’s milestone.