What they wore for the inauguration, and what it means
Understated style, fashion diplomacy and a very large hat.
If the first lady’s outfit at the Presidential Inauguration is a softly symbolic gesture of what she stands for, then Melania Trump is adding some spike.
She’s left the powdery blue swathes of cashmere ode to Jackie Kennedy (the woman her one-time right hand said in a tell-all was Trump’s long-time style icon) from her first inauguration behind her.
That look was by all-American designer Ralph Lauren, the recent recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this month.
Lauren – often considered the embodiment of the American Dream – was the first designer to receive the honour.
Jill Biden’s purple patch
Dr Jill Biden, vacating the role, was the one in Ralph Lauren, opting for a deep purple-ish blue dress and coat with matching pumps. Outgoing president Joe Biden also wore Ralph Lauren.
Blue has been synonymous with the Biden presidency, worn often by both and sometimes dubbed ‘Biden blue’.
Biden, when donating her inaugural clothes to the Smithsonian museum – a tradition for First Ladies begun with Helen Taft in 1912, once said of the power of clothes,
“I knew that my clothes could help me say something important.” Clothes are, she said, “a voice for me,” especially on the days when all you get is a photo opp beamed around the world.
Melania looking sharp
For this particular photo opp Trump leaned into her recent style signature of immaculate, almost severe, tailoring with a sharply tailored navy coat, spiky heels and an enormous navy boater hat by American milliner Eric Javits with a white trim worn low down over her face. Underneath the coat was a pencil skirt and silk blouse.
Such precise tailoring might be considered a kind of armour. The hat certainly allows protection of one’s personal space. Definitely it’s getting airplay on social media. As Lauren A. Rothman, a Washington, D.C., style strategist and image coach told The Wall Street Journal the meme-worthy hat “indicates that Melania is armed for battle.” It almost nearly didn’t come to be with the designer saying in an interview that the original was damaged in a snow storm en route from Miami to New York.
While dramatic, the look was simple and in keeping with a general mood of understated fashion choices for the day.
Unlike most of her recent appearances where Trump has favoured luxury European labels, including Dior and Dolce & Gabbana she chose the independent American designer Adam Lippes.
Lippes also dressed Princess Eugenie for the Trooping the Colour event in 2017 and has dressed Michelle Obama and Dr Jill Biden.
US designer on everyone’s Lippes
The designer sent out a release about the look in which he focused on American-made craftsmanship.
“The tradition of the presidential inauguration embodies the beauty of American democracy and today we had the honour to dress our first lady, Mrs. Melania Trump,” Lippes said in the statement.
“Mrs Trump’s outfit was created by some of America’s finest craftsmen and I take great pride in showing such work to the world.”
Michelle Obama playbook
The wearing of smaller American designers could be viewed as a page out of Michelle Obama’s playbook.
The former first lady used fashion diplomacy to great effect in choosing emerging or under-appreciated American designers for important moments.
For the 2009 swearing-in ceremony Obama wore Isabel Toledo and high street brand J.Crew gloves before changing into a white Jason Wu gown for the Inauguration ball.
Typically Trump and her long-time stylist, the designer Herve Pierre (who once worked with Carla Bruni), purchase Trump’s clothes off the rack.
“I don’t really do that for the good reason that the fashion industry is not very welcoming [of Trump]. That’s no secret,” Pierre told WWD in a recent interview.
“Some are very open-minded and would be able to do something special. But a lot of people are not.”
Oscar (de la Renta) performance by Usha Vance
Trump’s sartorial messaging has been considered inscrutable and sometimes gaffe-prone, such as the infamous ‘I really don’t care, do U’ jacket worn to visit children at the border in Texas.
The fashion industry may be thawing its hostility toward the Trump administration.
One of America’s toniest labels Oscar de la Renta – the label of choice for several first ladies across both political parties including Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush – dressed second lady Usha Vance. As well as Ivanka Trump for events ahead of the Inauguration.
The brand shared the pics, and the makings of, to its Instagram account.
Vance, whose style sits out of the block colour sheath dress and big hair glamour typically associated with the women of the Trump administration, wore a soft pink custom cashmere coat with scarf wrap and tea-length dress from the brand.
In the weekend events leading up to the inauguration Vance wore a custom black velvet gown from the brand with a sweetheart neckline, while Ivanka Trump wore a crystal and pearl empire waist gown, each bead individually embroidered, to the Inaugural Candlelight dinner. She also wore an Oscar de la Renta camel coat at the wreath laying ceremony.
For the inauguration ceremony Ivanka Trump opted for an emerald green cashmere skirt suit with matching pill box hat all by Dior Haute Couture. According to a press release issued by the luxury brand, the design was based on the “Favori AH1950” design of Monsieur Dior. She also wore a black Lady Dior bag.
Kamala Harris back in black
Outgoing Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris wore a structured black pants suit with a zippered front blazer. She added a black coat and printed scarf for the winter chill – the coldest in 40 years. Indeed the freezing temperatures forced the event indoors for the first time since 1985.
Throughout her tenure as vice president and presidential campaign Harris became known for her non-nonsense trouser suits.
In attendance for the church ceremony at the Inauguration was Bernard Arnault, chief executive of LVMH – the luxury French conglomerate that owns brands such as Dior, Louis Vuitton and American jeweller Tiffany & Co.
He was joined by his wife Helene, daughter Delphine, who heads up Dior and son Alexandre, who until recently has been working at Tiffany & Co. and will begin a new role back in France in the group’s wine and spirits division.
Other guests of note included the tech billionaires who all donned suits for the occasion. Lauren Sanchez, the partner of Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, caused a stir with her white suit and lingerie-inspired top.