Melania Trump Wears Dior to Wreath-laying Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery
In advance of Monday’s inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania attended a wreath-laying ceremony Sunday afternoon at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Ceremony.
In keeping with the mournful occasion, the past and future first lady chose a double-breasted black Dior cape-like coat. The former model wore black knee-high Christian Louboutin boots to the rainy event at the 639-acre cemetery, which has more than 400,000 headstones. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier serves as a symbolic grave for all war dead whose remains have not been found or identified. It began with one unknown service member from World War I and now has the remains of three unidentified service members.
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In a dark overcoat, dark suit, white shirt and red striped tie, Trump placed a wreath with white roses at the tomb, and stood silently for a few moments. Afterward, so did Vice President-elect JD Vance, who was also dressed in a dark overcoat and white shirt with a maroon tie. When a military bugler played “Taps,” Trump saluted and Vance placed his hand on his heart.
Before the ceremony started Vance arrived hand-in-hand with his wife Usha, who stood out in a dramatic white double-breasted coat. Trump’s children Tiffany, Ivanka, Eric and Donald Jr., were also on the Memorial Amphitheater’s steps, as were the president-elect’s grandchildren and Eric Trump’s wife Lara. Ivanka Trump made a late entrance wearing a camel-colored statement coat and dress with high-heeled boots. The first daughter counted on Oscar de la Renta’s design duo of Laura Kim and Fernardo Garcia for the orchid appliqué cashmere coat in camel, and the jewel-button detailed dress beneath it. Tiffany chose a belted gray one with oversize square pockets and puffy buttons.
The theme of the 60th inaugural ceremonies is “Our Enduring Democracy: A Constitutional Promise,” according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. Pete Hegesth, Marco Rubio and Elise Stefanik, who are respectively the president-elect’s choices for Secretary of Defense, Secretary of State and the U.N. ambassador were among the Cabinet members on hand.
After landing at Dulles International Airport Saturday night, the incoming first couple and their son Barron joined other family members and supporters at a private reception and fireworks display at the Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Va. With an Arctic freeze about to descend on the city, Monday’s inaugural ceremonies will be held indoors at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda for the first time since Ronald Reagan’s 1985 inauguration. Melania Trump also sported Dior for Saturday’s night opening event — wearing an oversize charcoal gray Dior coat with a white Baroque-type jacquard pantsuit from Dolce & Gabbana.
LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which is due to report fourth-quarter sales in the coming weeks, has the controlling stake in Dior. The Trumps need no introduction to LVMH’s chairman and chief executive officer Bernard Arnault, who in 2019 opened the doors of his new leather goods workshop in rural Alvarado, Texas, for the then President Trump to tout his administration’s jobs-creation record.
After the ceremony, Donald Trump was slated to attend a “MAGA Victory” rally Sunday afternoon at the Capitol One Arena, where the Village People and other musicians were scheduled to perform. As part of the revised weather-induced inaugural plans, the sports facility that is home to the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals and Georgetown University’s men’s basketball team — will also serve as a place for spectators to view Trump’s swearing-in ceremony on Monday.
Melania Trump’s choice of Dior was a change of pace from her 2017 visit to Arlington National Ceremony for her first pre-inaugural wreath-laying ceremony. At that time, she wore a Norisol Ferrari military-inspired knee-length coat and coordinating sheath dress. Made by a New York-based designer, that ensemble was meant to pay homage to American military service members. Ferrari told WWD that dressing Trump for that outing was meaningful since her biological father sustained lifelong disabilities in the line of service.
While the Trumps were getting reacclimated in Washington, D.C., President Joe Biden and his wife Jill had traveled to Charleston, S.C. They were scheduled to attend a service at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston Sunday morning and then visit the International African American Museum. On Saturday, the first lady took a trip to the National Zoo with Hunter Biden’s son Beau to meet the new panda “Bao Li” that was arranged through a 10-year deal with China. Jill Biden, an advocate for the panda diplomacy, dressed in a panda costume for Halloween. On Saturday, she opted for a boxy hot pink coat with an ecru tie-neck blouse, while her grandson sported a Canadian tuxedo — jeans and a jean jacket, but one with an American flag insignia.
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