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Melania’s big hat plays starring role in Trump’s Inauguration Day

Melania’s big hat plays starring role in Trump’s Inauguration Day

The hat drew widespread attention on social media after Trump was blocked from kissing the First Lady because of the accessory.
21 Jan, 2025

As President Donald Trump entered the US Capitol Rotunda to be sworn into office on Monday, he moved to kiss the cheek of his wife Melania but was blocked by a wide-brimmed hat that the First Lady wore throughout the entirety of Inauguration Day.

The moment — and the hat — drew widespread attention on social media. Some complimented her look, saying the First Lady looked sophisticated and “stunning”. Others likened her to the fictional superthief character Carmen Sandiego and questioned whether she was deliberately trying to keep distance from her husband, and why she kept the hat on all day.

The navy, boater-style hat with white trim sat atop Melania’s head through a morning church service, her husband’s swearing-in ceremony, a luncheon with Republican politicians and tech billionaires and a parade inside the Capital One Arena.

That was entirely appropriate etiquette, according to the hat’s American designer Eric Javits.

“Traditionally, you know, a hat should be worn all day,” Javits told Reuters. “You don’t take it off until you’re changing for another occasion.”

For much of the day, the hat obscured Melania’s eyes for most viewers. The First Lady, who rarely attended Trump’s campaign events last year, also wore a double-breasted navy mid-length jacket by Adam Lippes, another American designer.

“In my hands, it looks like a very sort of understated, humble hat,” Javits said. “And, you know, when she put it on, and you saw it with the ensemble and all that, her presence transformed it and made it something very powerful.”

An incoming First Lady’s outfit on Inauguration Day is frequently scrutinised by fashion experts, supporters and everyday voters who try to find significance in wardrobe choices.

Donald Trump joked about the hat during a speech following the inauguration ceremony, after his wife struggled to keep it on her head as the couple saw off former President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden, who departed Washington in a helicopter.

“With the hat that she’s wearing, she almost blew away,” Donald Trump joked. “She was being elevated off the ground.”

Melania, a former model, has made news before with her outfits. In 2018, during her husband’s previous term, a visit she made to a Texas shelter housing migrant children separated from their parents was overshadowed by a jacket she wore with the words: “I really don’t care, do u?” scrawled in white brush strokes on the back.

Comments

Taj Ahmad Jan 21, 2025 02:58pm
Yes, Trump were trying to hug her but failed to reach because of large size head on his wife’s head. I wish President Donald Trump all success on his second terms as US 45-47 President. Let’s make America great again.
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M. Saeed Jan 21, 2025 05:12pm
Very sharp, tricky lady caught in the most inappropriate place
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Syed Hasni Jan 21, 2025 06:09pm
Meli are you ok? Meli are you ok? Are you ok meli? She looks stunning, literally Grapes in the hands of (old) Monkey
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Laila Jan 21, 2025 09:11pm
I wa thinking how most if not all first ladies dont usually wear hats at inaugurations as far as I have seen in pictures. So it seemed a bit overstated. Anyways it's her choice. She looks elegant though.
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chip monk Jan 22, 2025 12:48am
So much focus on just a hat? Non sense.
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JAMIL SOOMRO Jan 22, 2025 09:14am
At the President Trump's Inauguration there were only two women who looked beautiful and were elegantly dressed they were Melania and Ivanka.
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Mahmood Jan 22, 2025 04:30pm
Vintage Jackie Kennedy-style imitation.
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Laila Jan 23, 2025 01:11pm
That poor woman. Another 4 years of scrutiny, mockery and bullying will follow, no doubt. The hat was unnecessary and now commonly seen at inaugurations? Anyhow she looks elegant.
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