Big hat and failed kiss, the enigmatic Melania Trump is also returning to the White House

At each inauguration of an American president, the First Lady’s outfit is scrutinized and commented on: Melania Trump did not fail in this tradition on Monday, with a hat so large that it seemed to hide her view.

Known to be secretive and often discreet in Donald Trump’s shadow, Melania Trump wore a long, tight navy blue coat and a matching wide-brimmed hat, which hid her eyes in most of the photos. So wide that when the 47th President of the United States wanted to give him a kiss, during the swearing-in, he had to stop a few centimeters from the cheek.

This outfit sparked many comments from fashion experts and on social networks, with some comparing Melania Trump to the video game character Carmen Sandiego, adapted into a series by Netflix. Melania Trump’s coat and skirt are creations by independent American fashion designer based in New York 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, Ms. Melania Trump,” the designer said in a statement emphasizing on American know-how rather than political ideology.

“Mrs. Trump’s outfit was created by some of America’s finest artisans and I am very proud to show this work to the world,” he added. The hat was designed by designer Éric Javits. First ladies’ outfits and their possible political significance have often been highly scrutinized in the past, even though no woman has ever been elected president of the United States.

Thus, Jimmy Carter’s wife, Rosalynn Carter, provoked a lot of reactions by wearing a dress… already worn, when her husband was inaugurated in 1977. The objective was then to show empathy towards the economic difficulties that crossed the Americans.

In recent years, they have regularly turned to independent designers, like Jill Biden in 2021, with a sparkling blue coat dress set from Markarian, a New York brand, matched with her anti-Covid mask, a must-have accessory four years ago years.