President Donald Trump’s inauguration was a grandiose spectacle where billionaires, political enemies and significant figures in the U.S. government were forced together. It was filled with warnings against oligarchy from the left, lengthy speeches outlining the new “Golden Age” of America from the right and an unsettling “Roman salute” by Elon Musk, amongst other contentious events. While watching the political drama unfold, I received a text from my mom that surprised me.
“Oh my god… Melania’s hat is hideous,” she texted in my family’s group chat.
Much to my mother’s surprise, my older sister and I immediately responded that we actually “kinda” liked her wide-brimmed black hat, which Eric Javits designed. It reminded me of Miranda Blake’s iconic hat from “The Parent Trap,” and felt striking yet elegant despite being mocked online.
In fact, her entire outfit and most of the other Trump-adjacent women in attendance were on par with the current trend of extremely modest, classic looks that hint at luxury. The Washington Post wrote that they put “the fashion in old-fashioned,” and compared their outfits to those of the 1980s.
On the newly unbanned TikTok, multiple posts compared Ivanka Trump’s dark green, monochrome dress, jacket and hat to the outfit sported by Serena Joy from HBO’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The character in the show is the wife of a conservative, religious member of the governing body of the nation, inciting commenters on one post, which amassed 2.1 million views, to draw a comparison between Ivanka Trump and Joy.
While this visual comparison is fair, it sows seeds of discomfort when considering the context of Margaret Atwood’s frequently banned novel and the significance of Joy’s mandated attire in the dystopian narrative, where women are stripped of all rights. By using women’s clothing as a literary device in her story, Atwood makes a statement on the significance of fashion trends.
Given the historical importance of this Inauguration Day, I understand it seems a bit superficial to be picking apart the fashion choices made by these women. But their choices are inspired by recent pervasive trends that reflect a larger shift in society.
What they wear isn’t merely a fashion statement — it’s also a political statement.
Conservatism and “quiet luxury” have become mainstream in the fashion world, a trend that was once accredited as resistance and exhaustion from the constantly evolving nature of micro-trends and the trend cycle at large. This “no-trend trend” formerly consisted of timeless, capsule wardrobes with staples such as blue jeans, white fitted shirts and other classic pieces. It’s been coined by celebrities such as Sophia Richie Grainge and Paige Lorenze and has spawned tangential styles such as the “coastal granddaughter” trend and the “old money aesthetic.” The necklines are higher, the skirts are longer and the hair is never messy.
It’s preppy. It’s chic. But it’s also derived from conservatism and elitism.
I was admittedly surprised by the results of the recent presidential election, specifically Trump’s winning the popular vote, and spent the first few days wondering how I did not predict a red sweep. Then, I began looking around and instead wondered not what I missed, but how I missed it.
I put on ballet flats, non-ripped jeans, a blazer and styled a perfect slick-back low bun on the day I went to the polls to cast my vote. My social media feed was filled with tradwives, younger marriages and holistic medicine tips, amongst other trends birthed from traditionalism.
A return to conservatism was sitting right in front of my very eyes and even manifesting in my wardrobe, much to my own ignorance.
Although some of this can be accredited to me getting closer to adulthood and further away from the Brandy Melville cropped tops of my teenage years, there has undeniably been a shift towards modesty in the fashion world.
Whether these trends were indicators or symptoms of this cultural shift, I’m not qualified to say. However, fashion has always been a mirror that reflects society while also influencing it. Women’s clothing has always been at the center of political commentary surrounding gender issues.
To dismiss fashion as a superficial industry ignores its historical and societal value. Instead of isolating fashion as a separate entity, we need to consider its broader implications within the political sphere and view it as a cultural thermometer.