Putting aside any takes on the MAGA comeback across the pond these past nine months, there can be no denying that the returning FLOTUS, Melania Trump, has always been ripe for fashion analysis — be it for better or worse.
No one knows what she is thinking behind her shielding navy hat and pursed smile, but all have borne witness to a woman has an aptitude for style. This is a former model and high society darling who was once the toast of the Met Gala and New York Fashion Week’s front row, after all.
Melania Trump wears Dior as she arrives for state visit with Donald Trump
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
So what did she wear to meet the royals at Windsor Castle on President Trump’s second state visit to the UK?
True to form, Melania chose to top her look with a wide-brim hat, this time a purple iteration was chosen to conceal her emotions. It was paired with a classic Dior skirt suit.
While it’s tradition to wear a homegrown label when visiting a country on state duties, Melania has form in flouting the rules and choosing French designers, plus she’s long been a Dior devotee.
Melania Trump is greeted by the Princess of Wales and Queen Camilla for a state visit at Windsor Castle
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However, she did touch down with Donald in a Burberry trench on Tuesday night, so she had already done her diplomatic duty.
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Later, the pair attended a state banquet dinner where Melania ditched both hats and macs, and wore a strapless column dress by Carolina Herrera.
The FLOTUS’s buttercup-yellow dress with a powder pink belt cinching it at the waist definitely stood out amongst the modest royal blue and gold confections worn by her fellow guests. Putting ones shoulders on show is quite the statement at an event like this.
Charles and Camilla with Donald and Melania Trump at the state banquet
PA Wire
The choice of designer is no surprise given that Hervé Pierre has long been the man behind Melania’s looks and is the former creative director at Carolina Herrera. He began working with her upon her first entry to the White House, after designing her inauguration gown in 2016, and later helping her with her looks, in what became his first styling job.
Because top luxury houses have historically refused to dress her, a great deal of what she wears is purchased. Pierre’s services do not come cheap, either. Having continued to help Melania Trump after leaving the White House, it was revealed he was paid over $100,000 from Donald Trump’s Political action committee in six months alone.
The latest in Melania’s choice of looks for the UK visit is a tan lather two-piece suit. The FLOTUS chose the button-up outfit for a guided tour of the Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and the Royal Library at Windsor Castle by Queen Camilla.
Queen Camilla (left) and First Lady Melania Trump (centre) look at miniature dolls’ house books during a visit to the Royal Library at Windsor Castle
Aaron Chown/PA Wire
Eyes are peeled to see if Melania will roll out more British designs on the trip.
For now, let’s remind ourselves of Melania Trump’s most impactful outfits from the past.
A modest procession of inaguaration looks
On inauguration day in January, as her husband was sworn in as 47th president, Melania was first spotted in a sophisticated navy blue coat by Adam Lippes, a New York based designer, as well as matching boater-style hat with a white ribbon by Eric Javits, who is also from the US, as she arrived at a service at St. John’s Church.
Melania Trump wears an Adam Lippes coat and Eric Javitsat hat at the inauguration of Donald Trump
via REUTERS
It was a step change for Melania to wear so many US designs, as fashion brands have historically not been enthusiastic to dress the Slovenian-American, which her stylist Hervé Pierre has labelled as “snobbish”.
Melania Trump wears an Adam Lippes coat and Eric Javits at a service at St. John’s Church on Inauguration Day
REUTERS
She then returned to form with her outfit at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, where she opted for a Dior overcoat and Dolce & Gabbana suit.
Melania Trump wears Dior and Dolce & Gabanna at Trump National Golf Club Washington DC in Sterling, Virginia, on January 18
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The following day, she wore a black, buttoned trench-cum-cape with black boots and leather gloves to attend a wreath laying by Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
Attending a wreath laying by US President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on January 19, 2025
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She later changed into a black sequin Carolina Herrera skirt, Dolce & Gabbana shirt as well as a statement, black-tie style Saint Laurent cape for a candlelight dinner at the National Building Museum later that night.
Wearing Carolina Herrera, Dolce & Gabbana and Saint Laurent at a candlelight dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, on January 19, 2025
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While to celebrate the presidential election win, as her husband Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris in November, she opted for a double-breasted grey, wool skirt Dior suit which extended just over the knee. What was she trying to say? Unlike some of the bold hues she has become known for, this time a touch of sophistication (and a willingness to slip, presentably, into the background) was preferred.
Wearing a Dior suit as her husband wins the US election on November 05, 2024
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Much like the late Queen Elizabeth II, Trump well understands the impact one bold, bright colour can achieve — certainly when sartorially speaking to thousands. A standout was a pre-Brat, Brat green pleated dress she wore for her husband’s Republican Party nomination acceptance speech in August 2020.
The Valentino spring 2020 pleated-crepe dress did get her in a pickle online: it was the same colour as a green-screen, which made her an easy target for a meme onslaught. It followed a host of other retina-damagingly bright looks.
In Valentino for the final day of the Republican National Convention on August 27, 2020
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In Ralph Lauren for the official launch of the Trump 2020 campaign at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida on June 18, 2019
AFP via Getty Images
In Delpozo to address other first spouses of world leaders at a United Nations luncheon on September 20, 2017
AFP via Getty Images
Melania Trump’s biggest fashion gaffes
There are two memorable terrors: a Zara coat which read “I really don’t care, do u?” shocked the world as FLOTUS made her way to visit facilities that house and care for children taken from their parents at the US-Mexico border. Another bad, though slightly less alarming, moment came with an unfortunate flesh shade pair of leather trousers.
In Zara to visit facilities that house and care for children taken from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border on June 21, 2018
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In Ralph Lauren trousers and a Prada jacket walking across the South Lawn of the White House after returning from Al Asad Air Base in Iraq to visit troops, on December 27, 2018
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All salute. Trump leans into army-style khaki two-pieces; famously for her 2020 speech, where she wore full look Alexander McQueen.
In Alexander McQueen addressing the Republican Convention on August 25, 2020
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In Altuzarra to welcome President Mauricio Macri of Argentina and the first lady of Argentina, Juliana Awada to the White House on April 27, 2017
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Never one to shy from a little sparkle, Trump is known to go-full-glitz when the dress code is black tie. Capes and all.
In Dolce & Gabbana for a New Years event Mar-a-Lago on December 31, 2022
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In Givenchy ahead of a dinner Winfield House, the residence of the US Ambassador on June 4, 2019
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In Dior haute couture at a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace on June 3, 2019
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In Celine at the Congressional Ball at the White House on December 15, 2018
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Louboutins in the White House gardens? A little dirt has never been a concern of Melania’s.
In Christian Louboutin stilettos and a Valentino skirt participating in a tree planting ceremony of a sapling from the original Eisenhower Oak at the White House on August 27, 2018
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In a caped tuxedo dress after a tree planting ceremony with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump at the White House on April 23, 2018
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