Like nearly all the women who preceded her in the White House, First Lady Melania Trump has been on the receiving end of criticism for her appearance. Even before the inauguration, a chorus of top designers publicly refused to dress her. Then observers noticed the First Lady’s preference for foreign designers in spite of her husband’s “America First” rhetoric. And since then, she’s come under criticism for jaw-dropping sartorial decisions, including a SR191,000 Dolce & Gabbana jacketthat found unexpected fans at Breitbart. (Nothing says “economic nationalism” like a five-figure jacket made by Italians.) While Trump’s style has more often than not displayed an out-of-touch attitude, she’s now following a tradition familiar to most Americans: re-wearing clothes.
On Monday, Melania Trump’s official Instagram account featured a photo of the First Lady posing with White House interns, wearing a white, sleeveless Michael Kors dress that fashion observers have seen before. Trump wore the same dress in May 2016, when Donald Trump won the Indiana primary, becoming the presumptive Republican nominee for president.
This is the first time in recent memory that the public has seen Trump re-wear something, but the development places her in good company. The world’s most famous outfit repeater, Duchess Kate Middleton, is often seen in dresses, jackets, and other pieces from her archives. Former First Lady Michelle Obama re-wore a green Michael Kors dress, deploying it both at the White House and at a conference in New York. Obama even called out husband Barack recently on his ability to get away with wearing the same tuxedo for years.
Perhaps we’ll see more fashion repeats from Trump in more public spaces going forward. Maybe she’ll even wear the Dolce & Gabbana jacket one more time.