Between Donald Trump’s meme coin, his January 6 pardons, his promises to rename the Gulf of Mexico, and his decision to pull out of the World Health Organization, there was no shortage of distressing news to take in on Inauguration Day. And yet, few things captured the internet’s attention like Melania Trump’s ultra-severe boater hat, which remained glued to her head throughout the day’s ceremonies. It reminded me of similar hats worn by Kate Middleton on royal duty, particularly an emerald-green one from 2023— except Melania wore hers pulled down to the top of her eyebrows, blocking most of her face from the public and her husband, reigniting the body-double conspiracy theories, and launching a thousand memes. And just like that, with one simple accessory, she pulled focus away from the new president and his broligarchy. (I’m sure Donald loved that.)
The hat’s designer, Eric Javits, told various outlets on Monday that Melania and her stylist-designer Hervé Pierre had commissioned the piece from him in December, long before the inauguration ceremony was moved inside due to weather. Another incoming First Lady might have abandoned the hat as a result, but not Melania. Her decision to stick with the distinctive accessory made more sense when I saw the Pierre-designed gown she chose for the evening’s formal balls: a white, strapless column gown topped with a black silk-band accent that switched back across her chest and wrapped around her waist. The bold lines recalled the ribbon on her hat, the contrast of her navy Adam Lippes tailored coat, and the white, high-neck dress she wore underneath for her day look. Melania’s evening look was more festive, for sure, yet still elegant and feminine — table stakes for the women in Trump’s orbit. But the shape of the decorative detail was puzzling, as was the choice to pair it with a thick, matching choker. (At first, I saw “R” for Republican in the bodice’s lines, and then I thought of the Zorro “Z” and the comparisons made between the hat she wore earlier that day and the character’s signature accessory.) And, once again, her gown pulled focus in a way that Ivanka Trump and Usha Vance’s safe, pretty dresses did not.
Melania is back in the White House with a new approach to her style: If the first administration was about tastefully fading into the background with Dior bar suits and Jackie Kennedy cosplay, this time, she’s aiming to serve some memorable, fashion-forward looks that won’t prompt anyone to think of past First Ladies — even if it means sticking out from the crowd or confounding the internet. On Sunday night at a pre-inauguration black-tie dinner, Ivanka wore an Oscar de la Renta gown covered with pearls and crystals and Lauren Sanchez showed up in a Dolce & Gabbana couture gown. Instead of following the most obvious dress-code conventions, Melania opted for a more casual sequined Carolina Herrera skirt and white button-down worn underneath a Saint Laurent cape coat. Once again, she proved she loves a theme, especially a literal one: cape coats. Earlier that day, she wore a similar one to a ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery.
Still, those looks were forgettable compared to what she chose for Monday’s big events, where I expected her to make a statement through color, not silhouette, and wear something more similar to Ivanka’s choice for the day: a well-tailored, simple dark-green coat and matching headpiece that did not obstruct her face at all — the kind of thing a European royal would wear to a winter wedding. And certainly not a borderline seasonally inappropriate hat that looked ominous and funereal but also more than a bit silly in its dramatic placement. And instantly memeable — a Trump specialty.
Is that what Melania wanted? Ever since her husband announced his first run for the presidency, the public has been tempted to fill in the blanks of her inscrutable public persona by painting her as something of a victim: an annoyed wife who secretly hates her husband, his job, and his many scandals. It’s a seductive narrative that feels emptier the longer she keeps those rumored divorce papers stuffed in a drawer somewhere. But this time around, Melania seems to have a new mind-set. She’s not just sticking by her husband’s side or complaining about the White House Christmas decorations. She’s signed up for a big-budget personal documentary, complete with a canceled director, and she’s cashing in on her husband’s cryptocurrency scheme. She’s taken Jackie Kennedy off her moodboard and is stepping, Melania style, into the spotlight. She’s wearing the big hat.