26 January 2017
Melania’s Gown
Does it really tell us anything?
By Lynda Goetz
On the whole, I am not a big follower of fashion, probably largely as a result of the rather puritanical approach of my father and the words drummed into me as a teenager; “If you follow fashion, you’ll never have any money.” Those words of advice have, in fact, served me well and I have rarely ended up with some ghastly item purchased in a flush of enthusiasm and discarded before even being worn. (Think balloon dresses, hideous prints or cut-off flares). Of course, if you are Melania Trump, money and the spending of it is hardly an issue. What is more, if, in addition to being the wife of a property magnate, billionaire businessman and TV celebrity, your husband has just become the President of the United States, making you the First Lady, it is actually quite important that you rise to the occasion and dress appropriately. What, however, is appropriate?
Well, speaking personally (and clearly you are already aware that I have no aspirations to becoming a fashion writer or editor), I have to say that I would consider both the pale blue dress she wore to the inauguration ceremony and the ball gown she wore to the inauguration balls later that day to be brilliant choices. Of course, the woman was a model, so she could probably get away with wearing a sack and still look pretty good, but what she did not do was go for bling. Bling does seem to be something her husband is more than happy with, so the eminently elegant and understated cream creation in which she appeared on the night of 21st January was perhaps an indication of her willingness (even enthusiasm) to adapt her style to her position. Although there have been a number of designers, including, rather notably, Tom Ford, who have made quite clear their attitude to the Trump presidency by their refusal to dress Melania, others such as Ralph Lauren (responsible for the powder blue outfit) and Hervé Pierre (former creative director to Carolina Herrera, who with Melania herself was responsible for Saturday night’s creation) have happily come forward.
In spite of the coverage in the popular press of this issue, it is probably fair to say that what Melania wore for the campaign and what she chooses to wear over the next four years as First Lady will have little or no effect on attitudes to her husband or his policies. However, whilst we are probably all holding our breath and hoping that The Donald’s more extreme attitudes and policies will not be too much on display (first signs are not encouraging), his wife has already indicated that (irrespective of what may have happened in the past), not only will she not have too much on display, but that what she does will be elegant, traditional and entirely appropriate to the occasion. Is it too much to hope that her husband might take his cue from her in terms of his use of language?
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