Despite making fewer than 50 public appearances in 2025, Melania Trump has managed to leave a significant impression through her meticulously chosen wardrobe.

Her fashion choices have carved out a distinctive visual influence on her husband’s second term, a feat made all the more striking by her infrequent public engagements.

The frills, vibrant pinks, floral embroidery, and delicate fabrics that once defined her style as First Lady have been replaced by a more assertive aesthetic. Her current wardrobe exudes sophistication and seriousness, featuring tailored coats, oversized trenches, and structured skirt suits.

This shift marks a dramatic change from her approach during Donald Trump’s first term. Alongside her wardrobe transformation, Melania has also stepped away from many traditional First Lady duties.

Unlike her previous tenure, she has not packed her schedule with the typical events expected of a First Lady.

Absent from the unveiling of the newly redesigned Rose Garden and silent on the controversial demolition of the East Wing, where her office once resided, Melania’s low profile speaks volumes.

She has also been absent for the president’s most consequential domestic and international moments – including his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15. Instead, Melania’s presence was felt in another way: by a letter handed to the Russian president, appealing for him to consider the children (Russian and Ukrainian) who were suffering as a result of the conflict.

The sobriety of her intervention reflected the bold professionalism that has been the hallmark of Melania Trump 2.0, which through meticulous calculation has played out from the get-go in her attire.

As the year comes to a close, writer Jane Tippett reflects on some of Melania’s best looks from 2025

And, as she closes out the year anticipating the January launch of her ambitious project – the 104-minute documentary MELANIA, on which Amazon reportedly spent $40 million – her sartorial sensibilities seem an evident forerunner to a reimagined representation as the nation’s first lady.

Inauguration Ensemble

At Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, Melania donned an Eric Javits boater that obscured part of her face

In 2017, Melania echoed the 1960s chic of her predecessor Jacqueline Kennedy, the first lady with whom she most identifies. In fact, Kennedy was the fashion inspiration for the ultra-feminine powder blue Ralph Lauren suit; hair swept up loosely in a delicate chignon.

Not so for Trump 2.0.

This time round, she channeled androgynous chic in her black silk wool Adam Lippes coat with stiff peak lapels, finishing off with an Eric Javits boater that quite literally prevented the world from glimpsing the woman beneath it – and set the tone for the coming year ahead.

Stand-out Gown 

For the inaugural ball that evening, she was fashioned in a black and white dress that contrasted from the glitzy gowns worn by her peers

Melania’s inaugural ball appearance in a gown by her longtime stylist and independent couturier Herve Pierre echoed the sense of independence that she has cultivated as a first lady.

Gone were the romanticism and ethereal undertones of the silk organza gown that Pierre had designed for her 2017. In their place was a structured precision that quite literally drew a line around the svelte body of the 55-year-old first lady. The sharp black details were echoed in the satin choker around her neck upon which a borrowed Harry Winston brooch was affixed.

The look divided not just critics but Melania herself from the princess-style ball gowns worn by the other Trump women.

Confident to appear as herself – and in the design of a man who had, because of his involvement with her, been exiled from the fashion mainstream – Melania made an unmistakable statement as she stepped once more into the spotlight of international political life.

Suited Up 

Melania chose to wear a suit for her official White House portrait (left) and she is known to gravitate towards suits, appearing at the Congressional Ball in December in a black ensemble paired with a lace, high-neck top underneath (right)

Five days after her husband’s inauguration, Melania surfaced in a black and white image by her favored photographer Régine Mahaux in her official White House portrait.

Photographed in a Dolce and Gabbana tuxedo suit – under which was a crisp white shirt – Melania radiated a bold, confident and no-nonsense boss. She exuded professional certainty and a personal discipline that was as precise as the tailoring of her several-thousand-dollar ensemble.

So successful was repetition of this androgynous attire that it resurfaced repeatedly in her most formal White House appearances – most notably at December’s congressional ball where, instead of a traditional button-down, a sheer, high-necked black embroidered blouse added a subtle hint of sexiness.

Serious Style 

When lobbying for the Take It Down Act, her style took on a more serious tone with a tan three-piece Ralph Lauren suit, complete with a tie

For her first solo outing as First Lady Melania, she emerged not for a ribbon cutting or afternoon tea, but to lobby for a cross-party coalition of senators for the passage of the Take It Down Act in March.

The tan Ralph Lauren suit – once more paired with a crisp white shirt, but this time with a black tie – created an air of seriousness softened only by the addition of her signature five-inch Manolo Blahniks.

Statement Pieces

Melania is known to make statements with her clothing – quite literally – and her trenches have been no exception. In fact, she wore one to the White House Easter Egg Roll event in April

Though there has been no stand-out-statement like the ‘I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U’ trench coat worn during her husband’s first term, the belted, double-breasted outerwear has become Melania’s hallmark piece.

In April, she chose a leather version by the Canadian brand Mackage. With a distinctly film noir edge, courtesy of the epaulettes that sat on each of her shoulders, it was far removed from the usual flounce of many an Easter party dress.

The same look – though with a slightly elongated hem – has become her trademark pre-travel ensemble.

Departing for the funeral of Pope Frances, she opted for a Dolce & Gabbana oatmeal-toned trench, pairing perfectly with her black Roger Vivier flats and one of the many Hermes Birkin bags she owns. A more exaggerated iteration, this time in Burberry, was the opening act for her two-day State Visit to Britain.

Restrained yet effortlessly chic, each incarnation radiated a woman who was on a mission – and knew exactly how to dress for the occasion.

Little Black Dress 

Melania wore a black dress at opening night of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center in June

In December, at the 48th Kennedy Center Honors, she repeated a near-identical look with another black number (left), and in November, she wore a long-sleeved black gown at the Fox Nation Patriot Awards (right)

Melania turned heads when she strode down the red carpet with her husband for the opening night of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center in June.

Melania’s figure-hugging black Bottega Venetta dress featured a high boat neckline and gold fastening at the collar, its restrained minimalism a far cry from her sequin-driven days when frequented the New York City glamour spots with her real-estate mogul husband.

Returning to the Kennedy Center in December, it was a near sartorial repeat – but this time she wore a floor length gown by Givenchy. And, collecting the Fox Nation Patriot Awards in November, she channeled the same professional sensibility in a black Carolina Herrera evening gown that featured a cross-draped bodice, asymmetric neckline and swept to the floor elegantly thanks to the soft side knot and slit.

Stately Attire

For the state visit to the UK, Melania stepped off the plane in a grey wool flannel two-piece skirt suit by Maria Grazia Chiuri, the outgoing Dior creative director, and an eggplant hat from Dior’s in-house milliner Stephan Miller

At the state banquet in September, Melania’s canary yellow off-the-shoulder gown stood out in the gilded halls of Windsor Castle and among the royal women in attendance

With the help of stylist Herve Pierre, Melania returned to silhouettes that she knows best for the unprecedented second state visit to Britain.

Resurrecting a face-obscuring hat, this time by Dior’s in-house milliner Stephan Miller, Melania eschewed any pretense of diplomatic dressing. Instead, she opted for the hard-edged chic of a grey wool flannel two-piece skirt suit by outgoing Dior creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri.

While she could have easily leaned into the incoming Dior designer Jonathan Anderson (himself a native of Northern Ireland), Melania reverted back to a style that has served her well for almost a decade.

When she emerged in the dining room at Windsor Castle in September in a canary yellow dress and a bold purple sash, she shocked guests and fashion press alike. The look was not just a stark contrast to the sober severity of her earlier ensemble, but also to the room of royals who had largely given way to a cascade of sequins and tulle.

Rather, her ensemble spoke volumes about a woman who not only has found her fashion stride but is uninterested in playing to the audience.

Dressed to Impress 

Lastly, at the black-tie state dinner for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Melania wore a strapless Elie Saab gown in a green hue that closely matched the color of the Saudi flag

For one of the few black-tie state dinners held in the first year of President Trump’s term, the red carpet was rolled out to welcome Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the presidential residence in November.

However, Melania’s strapless gown – coated to resemble leather and made by the Lebanese designer Elie Saab – stood out in the sea of black and white tuxedos, a proud display of the cadmium green that appeared not too dissimilar from the color of the Saudi flag.

Embracing once more the unexpected nature of a burst of color at formal events, Melania’s look embodied the kind of structured precision that has become her mainstay.