How First Ladies of the United States throughout history harnessed the power of fashion

Melania Trump

Tailoring, belted trench coats and sharply cut tuxedos are often her style of choice. At times military-inspired, highly polished and always glamorous, Melania Trump’s style has been the subject of adulation and consternation.

For some, she is the epitome of First Lady style, and for others, she embodies something else. She famously wore high heels on her way to visit a natural disaster site and a felt hat — a symbol of colonial rule — on safari in Kenya. Some point to her expensive tastes, with many of her clothes priced in the thousands. But perhaps most famous was the jacket she wore during a visit to a child immigration detention center in 2018, which read, “I really don’t care. Do you?” It was a message she later said was directed to “the left-wing media.”

Trump’s wardrobe is perhaps most coveted given that it is often the only communication tool she uses. “Melania wasn’t known as a great speaker, which made her fashion choices even more important, because a lot of times, that was how she spoke,” Rabinovich Fox says. “As a former model, she is of course no stranger to fashion, and knows very well how to use clothes.”

“In general, I think today’s first ladies understand the power of fashion, and they’re trying to build an image of themselves that represents the country, but also their own image and their husband’s agenda,” Rabinowitz-Fox says. It remains to be seen how this dynamic may shift when the United States takes over the “first man.”

“Michelle Obama’s View” is published by Crown Publishing Group in the US and Viking Press in the UK.

—

If you liked this story Subscribe to the Essential List newsletter – A handpicked collection of unmissable features, videos and news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more culture stories from the BBC, stay tuned Facebook and Instagram.