Jill Biden's Inappropriate Accessory At Queen Elizabeth's Funeral Raised Eyebrows

For a First Lady who's graced the cover of Vogue three times — debuting solo in August 2021, digitally featured in Winter 2022, and returning for a glossy front-page splash in August 2024 — we've come to expect a measure of refinement from Jill Biden's wardrobe. And in fairness, she's often delivered. She gave us one of the stunning 2024 DNC outfits that prove politicians can be fashion icons, too. Meanwhile, Biden's leggiest looks prove fashion has no age. But even her Vogue credentials couldn't save her from a particular fashion misstep.

At Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in September 2022, the First Lady joined President Biden as the only two official representatives of the United States. She wore black, as protocol demands. Her suit, by Schiaparelli, was fitted and formal. The jacket was sharply tailored to hug the waist and flare slightly at the hip — a classic silhouette made eccentric by the house's signature gold hardware. The skirt skimmed the knee and the hosiery was sheer. But resting at a jaunty angle was a voluminous, looping, bow-shaped fascinator — a flourish arguably more at home at a spring wedding than a royal requiem.

Granted, navigating high society fashion conventions is no simple matter, and it's true that fascinator etiquette in the UK is nuanced. The royals themselves have made a studied art of it — like when Kate Middleton jumped on the butter yellow trend at the Royal Garden Party with her tilted, hat-adjacent headpiece. But Jill Biden's take on the headwear still struck some as discordantly cheerful for the gravity of the occasion. In the endless scroll of commentary that ensued, one social media user put it with blunt efficiency: "Nothing says "I'm mourning for Queen Elizabeth" like a big black bow in your hair."

This wasn't the only time Jill Biden reached for her Schiaparelli mourning suit. In the years that followed Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, she returned to the look more than once — notably at the funeral of President Jimmy Carter, and then again at Pope Francis' memorial in 2025. But the educator had clearly learned from her past mistakes; the outfit remained the same, but the styling — crucially — did not.

In Rome, Biden paired the look with a traditional black lace mantilla veil, in keeping with Catholic custom. The delicate covering fell neatly within the expected grammar of papal mourning. At Carter's funeral, she dispensed with headwear altogether. The fascinator had been retired, so onlookers could breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Her stylist, Bailey Moon, later explained to Substack's So Many Thoughts the philosophy behind Biden's wardrobe repetition: "It was a deep appreciation for the craft and promoting that idea of: if you love it so much, give it another chance to shine." Nearly every item in her closet, he noted, had seen at least two wears. There's certainly a case to be made for outfit recycling in public life, in response to both sustainability and scrutiny. Some garments land better the second time round — and others, not at all.