Melania Trump Covers Eyes with Wide-Brimmed Hat to Accompany American-Made Inauguration Dress

It is unclear if Melania’s daytime inaugural outfit will join the Smithsonian’s First Ladies Collection, which she previously donated to in 2017

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Rachel Raposas is a Digital News Writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2024.

Published on January 20, 2025 11:05AM EST

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Incoming first lady Melania Trump emerged on Monday, Jan. 20, in an unusual inaugural outfit, covering part of her face with a wide-brimmed hat.

For her husband Donald Trump‘s second inauguration, Melania stepped out in a dark coat and skirt from New York designer Adam Lippes that was accessorized with a large hat. In photos with Joe and Jill Biden before the swearing-in ceremony, Melania’s eyes were covered and her expression somber, while Donald and the Bidens smiled for cameras.

The last first lady to wear a hat to the daytime inauguration events was Hillary Clinton in 1993, who wore a blue velvet bowler hat that did not obstruct her face.

It is unclear yet if one of Melania’s 2025 inaugural outfits will be enshrined into history after Inauguration Day by joining the two dozen-plus looks in the Smithsonian’s First Ladies Collection.

Curated to showcase the historic women’s contributions to the country during their husbands’ administrations, the exhibit has been around for nearly a century and “encourages visitors to consider the changing role played by the first lady and American women over the past 200 years,” its site reads.

Melania, a former model who is distinguished as the second foreign-born first lady, previously donated her 2017 inaugural ball gown to the Smithsonian collection.

In recent years, the collection also added Dr. Jill Biden‘s 2021 inaugural looks — a blue outfit and white outfit, both fitted with matching face masks — and former first lady Michelle Obama‘s white gown from husband Barack Obama‘s first inauguration in 2009.

Historically, first ladies’ outfits have carried intentional symbolism.

The blue of Dr. Biden’s Inauguration Day outfit in 2021 “was chosen to signify trust, confidence, and stability,” explained Alexandria O’Neill, designer and founder of Markarian, the label which created the inaugural look. The theme fit the moment: The Bidens moved into the White House in the midst of extreme political division, while the COVID-19 pandemic continued to disrupt daily life and Americans needed assurance.

Vice President Kamala Harris, though not a first lady, used her 2021 inaugural outfit to acknowledge her historic role as the first woman, the first Black person and first person of Asian descent to hold the office.

Harris wore a royal purple coat and matching dress from Brooklyn-based Christopher John Rogers, a nod to former New York Rep. Shirley Chisholm who inspired Harris’ career, and pearls to honor her Howard University sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha.