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Melania Trump’s 5 most controversial fashion moments: from her Gucci pussy-bow blouse to wearing a ‘colonial’ pith helmet on safari in Kenya and that unforgettable Zara jacket

While she may not be a fashionista, Melania Trump has worn some fashion items that have been jaw dropping, but not for the right reasons. Photos: AFP, AP, @kwskenya/Twitter
US first ladies’ fashion choices have been scrutinised for centuries. Back in the 19th century, Frances Cleveland was criticised for wearing dresses that showed her shoulders (!), while even style icon Jackie Kennedy’s embrace of trousers was deemed “shocking”.
But is seems unlikely few presidents’ wives have raised quite as many sartorial eyebrows as Melania Trump – the first lady who once wore that Zara jacket that said, “I really don’t care do U?”, to a child detention centre, of all places.

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Melania Trump wore a pink Gucci blouse to the second presidential debate in October 2016, causing speculation that the outfit had a hidden meaning
Melania Trump appears before the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 9, 2016 – wearing a Gucci pussy bow blouse. Photo: AFP Photo

Many wondered if the pussy-bow blouse was related to audio of Donald Trump remarking that he could “grab” women in intimate places because “when you’re a star they let you do it” that had leaked a few days earlier.

A campaign spokeswoman said that the similarity was not intentional, according to a tweet by Sopan Deb, then of CBS News.

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In May 2017, Trump garnered criticism for wearing a US$51,500 Dolce & Gabbana jacket at the G7 summit in Italy

US first lady Melania Trump at Chierici Palace, in 2017, as part of a visit of the G7 first ladies in Catania, Italy. Trump’s first outing in the Sicilian sunshine was in a colourful floral appliqué jacket by Dolce & Gabbana that comes off the rack at US$51,000. Photo: AP Photo

Melania Trump wore a US$51,500 Dolce & Gabbana jacket to meet with spouses of world leaders at the G7 summit in Italy. Purchasing the floral multicoloured jacket requires a US$25,750 deposit. The full cost of the jacket is more than most Americans make in a year, which proved a controversial choice.

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She was also criticised for seeming out of touch by wearing expensive designer heels to visit the site of a natural disaster in August 2017

US President Donald Trump and Melania Trump walk to board Marine One before departing the White House en route to Corpus Christi, Texas, to see the recovery efforts under way in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Photo: Xinhua

Trump wore the Manolo Blahnik pumps, which retail for US$625 at Neiman Marcus, to board Marine One on her way to visit sites affected by Hurricane Harvey.

By the time she disembarked in Texas, she had changed into trainers.

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Trump’s most notorious fashion moment was – yes – that Zara jacket that said “I really don’t care do U?”, worn en route to visit immigrant children at a government facility in June 2018

US first lady Melania Trump walks from her to her motorcade wearing a Zara design jacket with the phrase “I Really Don’t Care. Do U?” on the back as she returns to Washington from a visit to the US-Mexico border area in Texas, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, on June 21, 2018. Photo: Reuters

Trump initially denied that the jacket’s message was significant in any way in an interview with ABC News.

A few months later in another interview, she said the message was meant for “the left-wing media who are criticising me” over a number of scandals, which she said may make her the “most bullied person in the world”.

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Trump’s white pith helmet proved controversial on her October 2018 visit to Africa, due to its unpleasant association with colonial rule

Melania Trump enjoying a guided tour of the Nairobi National Park. Photo: @kwskenya/Twitter

Trump wore the helmet while visiting Nairobi National Park in Kenya. Many people pointed out on social media that the pith helmet is heavily symbolic of colonial rule, frequently worn by European travellers and military personnel from colonial armies.

This article originally appeared on Insider.
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  • Few people can forget the US first lady’s infamous Zara jacket that said “I really don’t care do U?”, worn when visiting detained immigrant children at a government facility
  • A day after Trump’s comment about ‘grabbing women’, Melania was seen wearing a pink blouse that made many wonder if there was a hidden meaning