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Last night, President Donald Trump delivered an address before the joint session of Congress, gathering political leaders in the House Chamber of Washington’s U.S. Capitol. Among other moments, Trump doubled down on his tariff hikes and cost-cutting agendas, as well as called for an end to the war in Ukraine. “America is back,” Trump declared in his speech.
While the president’s address zeroed in on a bold declaration of American pride, many of the political figures spectating in the crowd chose a more subdued approach to dressing. Echoing President Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s choice of dark suits, First Lady Melania Trump, and Second Lady Usha Vance, and former advisor Ivanka Trump all chose low-key designs that drew the focus back onto Trump and his impassioned speech.
First Lady Trump opted for a gray tweed skirt suit by Christian Dior, which featured a scarf-shawl lapel and belted waist. The structured suiting look is in line with the First Lady’s signature style, and echoes the Dolce Gabbana tuxedo jacket that she wore in her official White House portrait. Her latest Dior jacket retails for $5,500 on Dior’s website.
Her choice to wear a French fashion house could be seen as a confounding, given the theme of the night was to champion American businesses. The First Lady, however, often favors designs by Dior; During her first term in office, she wore the label’s white skirt suit to meet Queen Elizabeth II, and also wore a yellow silk Dior evening gown to meet the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Daughter Ivanka Trump sported a discreet navy skirt suit with floral appliqué work by Oscar de la Renta, one of her most-worn labels for political appearances. Usha Vance, meanwhile, chose a structured cream blazer and pleated trousers. Both Trump and Vance reflected the First Lady s approach to keeping a low profile for the address. While some of these figures have dressed with more flair at past political events—like on Inauguration Day, when the First Lady wore a white gown with black trim, made by her stylist Hervé Pierre—there was seemingly an intention to blend in last night.
The Democrats in attendance delivered their own fashion message. Many female Democratic members of Congress chose to wear pink during President Trump’s address, as a form of protest against his administration’s policies that negatively impact women and families. New Mexico Representative Teresa Leger Fernández, who chairs the Democratic Women’s Caucus, told Time magazine, “Women are claiming pink as a color of protest, as a color of power, and we are protesting what is happening right now.”
In past years, Democratic women in Congress have also sported white during President Trump’s addresses, as a nod to honor the suffragists who fought for the right to vote in the early 1900s. Some have also chosen to wear black to acknowledge the #MeToo movement.
