By Stephanie Kelly
(Reuters) – As President Donald Trump entered the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol to take the oath of office on Monday, he moved to kiss his wife Melania on the cheek but was blocked by the wide-brimmed hat the first lady wore throughout Inauguration Day.
The moment – and the hat – attracted widespread attention on social media. Some praised her look, saying the first lady looked sophisticated and “stunning.” Others compared her to the fictional superthief character Carmen Sandiego and questioned whether she was deliberately trying to stay away from her husband and why she wore a hat all day.
A sailor-style sailor hat with a white brim sat atop Melania Trump’s head during a morning church service, her husband’s swearing-in ceremony, a lunch with Republican politicians and tech billionaires and a parade inside Capital one (NYSE:) Arena.
That was quite appropriate etiquette, according to the American hat designer Eric Javits.
“Traditionally, you know, the hat should be worn all day,” Javits told Reuters. “You don’t take it off until you change for another occasion.”
For most of the day, Melania Trump’s eyes were obscured by the hat for most viewers. The first lady, who rarely attended Trump campaign events last year, also wore a navy double-breasted midi-length jacket by Adam Lippes, another American designer.
“In my hands, it looks like a very modest, modest hat,” Javits said. “And, you know, when she put it on, and you saw it with the ensemble and everything, her presence transformed it and made it something very powerful.”
The new first lady’s Inauguration Day outfit is often scrutinized by fashion experts, fans and everyday voters trying to find meaning in the wardrobe choice.
Donald Trump joked about the hat during a speech after 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 by helicopter.
“With the hat she’s wearing, she almost blew it,” joked Donald Trump. “She was lifted off the ground.”
Melania Trump, a former model, has made news before with her outfits. In 2018, during her husband’s previous term, her visit to a Texas shelter housing separated migrant children was overshadowed by a jacket she wore that read: “I really don’t care, do you?” scrawled with white brush strokes on the back.
