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Tag: Melania Trump (page 2 of 2)

The Truth about Melania’s Shoes

Melania can’t get the optics right, you say? A failure in optics for whom, exactly?

Let’s see…

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Donald and Melania, striding through the night with a wind machine at their backs, like characters from an 80s action movie come to save the day in their matching jackets and kick-ass teamwork.

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Donald and Melania, descending from the clouds along with blue skies and a break from torrential rains, showing unity as they draw attention, resources, and strength to the Houston area.

Huh, that’s some spectacular failure right there. Looks pretty good to me.

The divisiveness over Melania’s shoes is yet another symptom of the divide that has been growing wider and wider in our country for quite some time now. Scott Adams likens it to seeing two different movies on the same screen.

I see it as upside-down world and rightside-up world. In my world, up is up, and I orient myself accordingly. In a leftist’s world, up is down, and they also orient accordingly. But when I talk about “up,” and they talk about “up,” we both think we are talking about the same thing (“up” relative to our own self) but we are objectively talking about two entirely different things altogether.

As people the post-Trump world has gotten less and less inclined to talk rationally to each other, the poles pretty much flipped. Sometime in 2016, I would have said that they were at right angles to each other — or at least not so far apart that you couldn’t connect on some level — but there was a point, probably 2 months before the election, when something clicked and we’re 180 degrees apart in perception.

So you have two audiences for Melania Trump’s optics:

  • Upside-Down World, who will always hate her no matter what because she’s married to the evil racist scary bigot orange unpresidential monster, and
  • Rightside-Up World, who are inclined to like her or are indifferent — or won’t judge her harshly simply because of who she’s married to.

Citizens of Upside-Down World don’t like that Melania wore stiletto heels on the plane and wish she would have worn something more appropriate.

Citizens of Rightside-Up World are wondering what the big deal is, and why the media is detracting from important issues like, say, catastrophic flooding in a major American city, in order to talk about a woman’s fashion choice.

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I like this photo of her both wearing the shoes and carrying her own umbrella.It’s satisfying. Upside-Down Worlders seem to think that if a woman is wearing stilettos, she can’t do anything for herself.

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So which is more truthful?

“Hi, I’m Melania Trump, former model who speaks 5 languages and is married to an incredibly successful and wealthy man who also happens to be President of the United States. Like most former models, I like expensive clothes. I’m in a non-flooded area wearing the type of outfit that reads ‘utilitarian’ but only on a fashion runway. These are shoes I typically wear.”

or

“Hi, I’m Melooneeoy Troomp, a beaten and broke down woman who is trying to rehab her image in the eyes of ‘the people.’ Even though I’m not going to be anywhere near the Cajun Navy, and literally nobody expects me to do that, I’m going to dress up in a costume like I’ll be out on the boats rescuing people anyway. Because optics.”

People in Upside-Down World need Melania to wear the sartorial equivalent of a lie, because it looks better, rather than her wearing what she would normally wear as the person that she is. Perhaps it is less of a need than a want — they want the photographic illusion that someone is helping. (Really though, they just want to nitpick and complain.)

Most of the people in Rightside-Up World understand that the President’s help is mostly on a ceremonial level — he will not be helping personally, but with policy and money and manpower and influence — and that dressing up in honest-to-goodness work clothes for a photo op would be patently ridiculous.

What Melania wears in this situation is mostly secondary, but she — as always — chooses clothes that are tasteful, that suit the (real) occasion, that align her with Trump as a team, and that project elegance.

Her outfits are so well chosen it seems like her team is a bit prescient to how the press will react. If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was planned.

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Melania would kindly remind you who she is, and — more importantly — who you are not.

Melania Trump double feature

I should probably post about Milo at the VMAs yesterday, because 1. HOW DID HE GET AN INVITE? and 2. his hair was, as usual, amazing. But why talk about Milo when you could talk about the Slavic Wife of our God Emperor?

First up, a green dress with orange pumps. In theory, that sounds ghastly.

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In reality, it’s less ghastly but I’m still not totally sure I’m on board with it. I get that it matches the orange trim of the dress, so it’s not totally out of left field, but orange and green is a really tough color combination to pull off, for anyone. And, I appreciate her bringing some style to her shoes, unlike Catherine across the pond who wears the same boring shoes over and over again.

Overall, the look works. She’s giving off major MILF vibes.

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Next up, an outfit that reminds me of Jackie O. It’s been worn a thousand times by a thousand different types of women, and really it’s nothing to write home again. Cropped pants, ballet flats, blouse.

Melania is doing shades of pink. She tends to stay within one color family for an outfit, the “column of color” idea (except for when she doesn’t, see above). What gets me is that she takes such a steady outfit idea, and manages to look COOL wearing it.

Those sunglasses were an inspired purchase. They add just the right amount of edge to an outfit without being too outside-the-box.

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She also does a great job of setting herself apart from the two men surrounding her–both in blue and white.

PS. I kind of love that Barron is wearing Gucci loafers.

Melania in Paris Pt II

I wasn’t going to do another post on Melania in Paris because I don’t want this to become a blog that’s all Melania all the time, but look! Look at this! This magnificent deployment of a bright red, New Look-inspired suit. She completely BTFOs Madame Macron. Melania comes across as more chic than the actual French woman!

Next to her, Madame Macron looks like she’s a “cool mom” cosplaying as a nurse.

Notice also the differences in posture between the two women. Melania is standing tall, with one ankle slightly arched to create a more graceful line; Macron is slightly hunched, jutting her chin forward, with her hand plastered to the side of her thigh.

Melania’s suit has more surface area, which commands more attention. Since it’s also lots of RED surface area, which pulls the eye even more.

Plus Melania is wearing sunglasses, which add that air of mystery and glamour.

She is demure, glamourous, and patriotic.

And all eyes are on her.

***

In a recent YouTube video, Justine LeConte talked about color theory as applied to our wardrobes. Justine talks about Melania for always sending a clear message with her style. Specifically talking about color, she cited the pale blue coat at the inauguration and the white dress with a thin red belt at the inaugural ball. I wasn’t convinced with only two examples, but after yesterday’s post and the photo above, coupled with her bright pink pussy-bow blouse at one of the debates last year, I’m convinced. Melania knows what she’s doing.

For a First Lady, she conveys her solidarity with her husband in her actions, her words, and in the way she presents herself. Whether it’s  wearing the complementing blue to his red and white, or literally wearing the sartorial version of “pussy,” the word that the media was beating into the public consciousness in an attempt to stop him, Melania dresses in a way that ties her to Trump.

Melania always impeccably polished and appropriate, in a way that complements the Trump brand. Her clothes are never ostentatious, but they scream “I’m rich,” which strikes me as a balance between her quieter personality and his habit of flamboyance.

So while she visually ties herself to her husband in a show of solidarity, she clearly has her own point of view. This seems to bear out with the interviews I’ve watched of her, where she thoughtfully provides input behind the scenes.

At first, when I got the idea to write about Melania Trump’s fashion because certain other fashion bloggers refuse to, I wasn’t sure what I would write about. It’s becoming quite clear that Melania knows exactly what she’s doing, and I’m looking forward to chronicling it. I’m ready to decipher her style messages.

We have a professional fashion rhetorician in the house, ladies and gentlemen.

 

Melania in Paris

Let’s look at pictures of Melania and President Trump at the Bastille Day celebration in France.

Again she’s softly matching Trump’s tie. The white and blue combination is nice for Bastille Day–echoing patriotism but not going all out. The longer I stare at these pictures, though, the more the smurf-blue shoes stand out in a garish way. Not the greatest choice IMO, especially if they’re suede.

Not a huge fan of the width of that belt. When she stands, it makes her torso look like one block, with a skirt that flares out from under it, which makes her waist look thicker than she is.

On the other hand, check her out in comparison to Madame Macron, who looks like a CNN news anchor. Helmet hair and the dark blue tuff-girl suit. There’s quite a contrast between these two ladies, and Melania played it up.

Melania’s dress flares out like a 1950s dress, with a floral print that reads very feminine. That can’t be an accident.

I mean, which couple do you trust more?

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I’m tempted to file this one under “compare and contrast” instead of “style.”

Black and white and red all over

Here’s a challenge: how do you write something interesting about style day after day, saying something more than just “I like it” or “it works”? Because style is much more than either of those two things. Sometimes, what I personally like or what I personally would put on my body (two categories that don’t always overlap) have nothing to do with what I find interesting or stylish about another person. Different aesthetics, different purpose, different personality.

Regardless, Melania Trump once again looks impeccably put-together jetting off to Paris today. Again, with the simple silhouette and color palette. This one has three bits of spice.

Aside: maybe it’s the shades, but she reminds me of Salma Hayek in this photo.

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There’s that lovely white detailing that runs through the jacket seams and down the pant leg, which she echoes with the white belt. The contrast provides just enough interest to stave off “another boring black suit” syndrome.

I wonder if the belt came off on the plane. I certainly wouldn’t want to fly anywhere with a belt on.

 

The sunglasses are achingly current without being too obnoxious about it. The frameless style is sleek and I like how the little hit of metal at the corners mimics the stitching in her jacket.

She’s not wearing jewelry, but this outfit has enough contrast that I think a necklace would send it over-the-top, especially since this is a photo-op for boarding a plane.

And that flash of red sole is pretty great, too.

Too bad there’s not a photo of them walking away on a non-grass surface. The combination of those perfectly floor-skimming pants with the red Louboutin soles would be fun to see.

Melania in Poland

There are two things I love from the female contingent of the Trump appearance in Poland today (aside from Trump’s speech, over which I had hearts in my eyes and a hand over my heart).

First of all, much like how the speech used events in Polish history to illustrate modern problems faced by both our nations, Melania’s dress calls back to Polish traditional dress, but in a sleek, modern way. The bright, bold stripe and graphic design, and shape of the skirt reflect Poland, but reinterpreted in a very Melania fashion with a simple silhouette.

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The print on Melania’s skirt also appears to be pieced, rather than printed, which adds an interesting dimensionality.

Secondly, look at that color palette! How cohesive, yet everyone is distinct!

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The two men stand united in similar suits, but are clearly distinct entities as labeled by the colors of their ties and the pins on their lapels. Separate nations, with a common understanding.

Unlike the Dudas, who are lovely people I’m sure but who are wearing their own colors with no call-between, Melania and Trump are visually tied together by a stripe of red. They tend to color coordinate, which I find incredibly endearing.

Melania is the one to unite everyone visually, drawing together the bright pink of Agata Kornhauser-Duda’s suit, the red of Trump’s tie, and (if you squint) the blue of Duda’s.

I wonder if President Trump and Agata Kornhause-Duda swapped hair color secrets.

 

Melania Trump Style

First Lady style has a long and storied history in the modern United States. Jackie Kennedy embodied it the most, and even Michelle Obama had her own point of view (though I suspect it was heavily influenced by Anna Wintour).

But because Everybody Hates Trump ™, Melania’s style is not getting talked about like it should be.

Not that Melania cares. 

I like how she brings an understated elegance, with a high-fashion twist, back to the White House. I like how she still embodies, to a degree, Eastern European style. Sometimes I like her, other times I don’t, but I do appreciate that she has an eye for fashion and wears clothes well. We need more of that.

And now that I’ve found that Getty images will let you embed photos for editorial purposes (which this certainly is), I’ll be delving more into Melania’s style. And probably the rest of Trump-affiliated women. And maybe some internet personalities, because why not.

Republicans have style, too.

PS. She’s a pro at walking on grass in heels.

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