While red baseball caps have become synonymous with the president donald trumpthe first lady Melania Trump made her own millinery-related fashion statement, sporting a navy blue wide brim hat by an American designer on opening day.
The hat designed by Eric Javits shielded the first lady’s eyes as her husband was sworn in Monday for the second time. Javits said dressing the first lady has been one of the greatest honors of his career.
“My artistic experience gave me an advantage in bringing harmony and balance to the face by creating hat shapes that flattered and enhanced all face types,” she said in a statement. “In this specific case, that was not difficult to do, since Mrs. Trump has great bone structure, beauty and a wonderful sense of style”.
The hat left its mark throughout the inauguration ceremony: when Trump went to kiss his wife after entering the Capitol Rotunda, the hat only left room for an air kiss. Even the now former president Joe Biden She had to dodge the hat while trying to talk to her husband, who was on the other side.
Trump, speaking at Emancipation Hall after the inauguration ceremony, joked that his wife’s hat almost blew away in the wind. The first lady had held on to her hat as a military helicopter taking off with Biden generated wind.
“She almost flew away,” Trump said, laughing. “They were lifting her off the ground.”
Stepping away from Ralph Lauren’s sky blue cashmere dress and gloves from 2017, this time around Melania Trump paired a navy silk wool coat with a navy skirt and an ivory silk crepe blouse underneath, all by the independent American designer Adam Lippes.
“The tradition of the presidential inauguration embodies the beauty of american democracy and today we had the honor of dressing our first lady, Mrs. Melania Trump,” Lippes said in a statement. “Mrs. Trump’s outfit was created by some of the best artisans in America and I am proud to show that work to the world.”
Her first outfit for the inauguration drew comparisons with the style of Jacqueline Kennedywho also famously wore a top hat to her husband’s inauguration in 1961. But dressing the first lady became a point of political contention in 2017, when some designers said they wouldn’t dress the incoming first ladyan opportunity that is usually coveted. Some social media users They pushed to boycott Ralph Lauren then.
Fast forward to the year 2025 and Ralph Lauren was the designer chosen by the first lady Jill Biden for your farewell look. She opted for a monochromatic purple, from her coat to her shoes and gloves, to mark the transition of power.
Ralph Lauren did not respond to a request for comment.
(With information from AP)
