Melania Trump Outfits That Had People Talking For All The Wrong Reasons

Melania Trump has the power to stir up huge conversations around her outfit choices without her even saying a word. The first lady has donned numerous looks that spun both the news media and internet into a frenzy. And nine times out of ten, these conversations are negatively charged. From the infamous "I really don't care, do you?" jacket to her awkwardly chosen pith helmet in Africa, Melania can't seem to get dressed without upsetting huge swaths of the population. 

There are a variety of reasons why Melania's sartorial taste gets so much attention. In some cases, Melania wears outfits that totally miss the mark, meaning that she's either dressed in something prohibitively expensive to a charitable event or wearing something that came off as out of touch. More specifically, Melania's donned outfits with jaw-dropping price tags, proving that when it comes to her wardrobe, there is no budget. In other instances, the famously stylish former model makes tailoring mistakes. For example, Melania has, on numerous occasions, wore ill-fitting outfits that were hard to ignore. Not all of these fashion moments sparked intense conversation, though. These upcoming looks, however, did in a big way. 

Perhaps one of the most unfortunate fashion choices that Melania Trump has ever worn — and one that sparked the most conversation — was her pink pussy bow blouse. The first lady stepped out in the top — granted, it's got an awkward name — right after an old video surfaced of her husband, Donald Trump, speaking about women in a derogatory way. The video was from 2005, when Trump was conversing with TV personality Billy Bush, and Trump, speaking of women in general, said, "Grab them by the pu***. You can do anything." The video understandably caused wide-spread outrage. 

With that in mind, it was no doubt a questionable move that for the October 2016 presidential debate, Melania arrived in a pink, Gucci pussy-bow blouse. The blouse garnered a lot of attention, and Melania got flack for this choice. The piece of clothing was extensively covered by the news, and people online couldn't understand what happened. Some speculated that Melania didn't mean to wear the top, while others thought she was pushing back against her husband's vulgar comments. In other arenas, people were repulsed. "[It] just shows their total contempt for women and any moral objection to his repugnant behaviour. Disgraceful," someone tweeted about Donald and Melania together. "A timely gift from Ivanka," someone else joked, noting the havoc that Melania's blouse caused. "[Not] to mention it's a freaking thousand dollar blouse," a third noted. 

When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas in August 2017, Melania and Donald Trump flew down to speak about relief efforts. While this is all well and good, Melania left the White House in sky-high, black stilettos, along with black slacks and a green bomber jacket. The impractical footwear struck many people as insensitive and strange. To be fair, she did switch into sneakers once they landed in Texas, but the optics made her seem out of touch. 

Trump later defended his wife, saying she was dressed elegantly on White House grounds. "[Melania's] dressed appropriately for the White House, you know, because we respect the White House a lot," he said, per CNN. "And she's wearing high heels, like many of you would do, and they went after her." In spite of Trump's defence, people didn't like the situation. "Well she looked like the clueless trophy wife she is," someone tweeted, getting a little snarky. "Melania should know what kind of footwear is appropriate for a flood zone," another commented. "Her flood heels!" a third joked. The ongoing discussion around Melania's heels got everybody talking for the wrong reasons. 

Melania Trump will never live down her infamous green Zara jacket that she wore in 2018 when leaving the White House to visit a detention center for migrant children. In bold white letters, the  back read: "I Really Don't Care Do U?" This single piece of outerwear caused an absolute frenzy in the media. People could not understand why the first lady wore such a seemingly cruel jacket during such a crisis. Some argued the outfit choice signaled that she didn't care about the plight of the children whom she was about to visit. As a result, many were outraged and expressed their anger vehemently online. "@FLOTUS I mean really? Have you no compassion? What kind of people are you? Don't you have hearts?," one user tweeted. "[How] in the world is it ever OK to wear such a jacket, who told her this was OK?" another asked. "Does the White House no longer have a pr team?? Like wtf," another commented. People were truly irate.

However, later, author Katie Rogers wrote in her book "American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, From Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden" that Melania actually wore the jacket to send a message to her step-daughter, Ivanka Trump. Melania and Ivanka, allegedly, had been feuding for years and Melania had it. Rogers writes that Melania felt that Ivanka was trying to take over the role of first lady, and Melania wanted to get her power back. 

When Melania Trump toured Africa in October 2018, she went on a safari tour in Nairobi National Park while wearing a pith helmet. There were so many things that people had to discuss about this look. For one, the pith helmet has dark connotations associated with the colonial invasion in Africa and other parts of the world. Secondly, her outfit looked like cosplay of a 19th century explorer in the continent. Rather than touring the country in an outfit suitable for the occasion, Melania garbed herself in a costume. It left an impression that made many people uncomfortable. 

On X, people vented their frustration about this. "[Melania] is just so clueless. Either that or she is intentionally cold and rude. It's deeply embarrassing," someone tweeted. "I wonder why she is trying to offends her hosts? She can't be that tacky & insensitive can she?" another asked. "Cosplay. Good grief," someone else wrote. It wasn't just on X, though. Major media outlets covered the hat, as well, with sites like The Guardian publishing an article called: "Melania Trump criticized for wearing colonial-style hat during Kenyan safari." Similarly, Vox published a piece entitled: "The backlash to Melania Trump's safari outfit, explained." It had everyone in an uproar.

When Melania and Donald Trump left the White House on January 20, 2021 after Trump lost the election to Joe Biden, Melania walked out in an all-black outfit. The outfit was certainly a somber one, considering the fact that Melania typically wears colorful clothing. But what made people upset by this look was a repeating pattern in Melania's wardrobe choices. She rarely wears American designers.

The black outfit was entirely European. Her jacket was from Chanel, her dress was from Dolce and Gabbana, her heels were by Christian Louboutin, and she carried a $50,000 Hermès bag. The New York Post took umbrage with Melania's outfit on January 20, noting that nothing was by an American brand. This has been an ongoing issue for Melania, something even more hypocritical considering the fact that her husband frequently encourages people to "buy American." First ladies are expected to support American designers; the fact that Melania left wearing exclusively luxury European designers shows that she was bucking this patriotic imperative. To be fair, particularly during Trump's first term as president, many American designers refused to dress Melania, so it might have been harder for her. Nonetheless, her all-European look on that last day in 2021 felt like an expression of Melania's negative experience of being America's first lady. 

For President Donald Trump's second inauguration ceremony in January 2025, Melania Trump wore a blue and white hat created by designer Eric Javits to coordinate with her navy coat and white scarf. It was so large that it covered most of Melania's face during the event, and obscured the public's view of her. The hat felt like her silent way of saying, "I'm here but you can't look at me," as if she wanted to stay away from the media's gaze while still attending the event. 

The hat was so sensational that it became memeified, and people online had so much to say about it. Unfortunately though, most of the chatter was speculation that Melania really wore the hat to keep her husband from being able to kiss her or get near her. "Four more years of keeping him at a distance," someone joked on X. "Knew it! [Melania's] extra large inauguration hat brim was meant to double as some sort of protective shield," another commented. Others joked that Melania wore the hat to hide her misery over being the first lady once again. "She looks like she is going to a funeral which might just be wishful thinking on her part," someone tweeted. Melania — and her marriage — got absolutely roasted because of that hat.

Melania Trump wore some interesting outfits when she and her husband, Donald Trump, were on a state visit to England in September 2025. For the official state banquet at Windsor Castle, the first lady opted for an off-the-shoulder yellow Carolina Herrera dress with a lavender belt and emerald earrings. It was a bold and colorful choice, but one that didn't land well with the public, and people got into a talking frenzy about this yellow dress.

Royal commentator Amanda Matta broke down the look in a video on Instagram. Matta said that the problem with Melania's dress is that it did not adhere to the dress code; traditional dress codes for state banquets are white tie, and this means for women that a floor-length dress in a muted color is a must. The dress is expected to be serious. Matta also noted that white tie restricts showing too much skin, so Melania's bare shoulders and décolletage pushed this boundary. "I usually love what she wears..but this was a miss..not flattering at all," someone commented on the post. "[Melania] needs to follow rules! I can't believe she doesn't listen to her staff!!!!!" another person wrote. "She just didn't care. No excuses for her," a third chimed in. People felt like Melania's yellow dress was tacky and disrespectful.