In a 2019 interview on Fox & Friends, former President Donald Trump drew a parallel between his wife, Melania Trump, and the iconic Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. “We have our own Jackie O, it’s called Melania, Melania T,” he remarked, underscoring a comparison that has captured public attention time and again.
At 56, Melania Trump may be the present First Lady, but she seems to have taken fashion cues from Jackie O, who passed away in 1994 from non-Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 64. Jackie O remains a beacon of style, and her fashion sensibility continues to inspire generations of celebrities and designers long after her time in the public eye.
This comparison was highlighted once more during a recent state banquet, where Melania hosted King Charles and Queen Camilla. She donned a striking pink Christian Dior ensemble that echoed a look famously worn by Jackie Kennedy during her tenure as First Lady alongside John F. Kennedy.
Melania’s nods to Jackie O’s timeless style are not new. Ever since Trump’s inauguration in 2017, observers have noted similarities. Melania wore a powder-blue Ralph Lauren dress and coat that drew immediate parallels to the pale blue skirt suit Jackie wore to her husband’s 1961 inauguration, complete with matching long gloves.
The enduring appeal of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s fashion choices continues to resonate, and Melania Trump has seamlessly woven elements of that legacy into her own public appearances, generating both admiration and conversation around her sartorial choices.
She accessorised her outfit with matching long gloves – and immediately drew comparisons to Jackie, who also wore a pale blue skirt suit and long gloves to her husband’s 1961 inauguration.
The president’s inauguration was undoubtedly one of the most important style moments in Melania’s time as First Lady, but she also likes to emulate Jackie’s more casual moments.
When she and her husband arrived at Palm Beach International Airport in February 2017, she wore a black button-down, white trousers, and statement sunglasses – an outfit nearly identical to the one Jackie had on at the West Palm Beach Airport in 1973.
Melania Trump’s fashion choices have drawn comparisons to to the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
In June 2019, she emulated another of Jackie O’s monochrome looks when stepping off Air Force One in Tucson, Arizona, in a casual black three-quarter sleeve shirt and wide-leg white pants, paired with white trainers and oversized sunglasses.
The outfit was reminiscent of the look her predecessor wore in Greece the day before her wedding to Aristotle Onassis, though Jackie’s sleeves were shorter and her feet were bare.
Melania has also channelled some of Jackie O’s more colourful looks, for instance, when she met with France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, in July 2017, she donned a smart red skirt suit, matching pumps, and black, oversized shades.
Jackie wore a similarly coloured skirt suit to discuss plans for the new National Culture Centre, later renamed The Kennedy Centre, in the White House in 1962.
Elsewhere, in Saudi Arabia in May 2017, Melania cinched the waist of her long black dress with a large gold belt, which resembled the belt Jackie wore to the opera in New York City 50 years earlier.
A fondness for Chanel suits is another sartorial preference shared by both women – Jackie wore several skirt suits by the label, including the pink and navy suit she had on the day JFK was assassinated.
Melania wore a Chanel Haute Couture dress for Trump’s first state dinner at the White House in April 2018 – and when hosting Ivan Duque, Colombia’s president, in February, 2019, Melania wore a pink coat with similar qualities to that of Jackie’s Chanel suit on the fateful November 1963 day.
It seems Melania has long been a fan of Jackie O, and back in 1999, when Donald – her then-boyfriend – was considering running for president for the first time, she told The New York Times she ‘would be very traditional’ if she got into the White House, ‘like Betty Ford or Jackie Kennedy’.
Melania appeared to draw inspiration from Jackie O when hosting a tea party for Charles and Camilla this week
Start of it all: Melania famously wore a powder blue Ralph Lauren dress and coat to her husband’s inauguration in 2016, a look that mirrored Jackie’s at JFK’s swearing-in 1961
Lookalikes: When Melania arrived at Palm Beach International Airport in February 2017, she wore an outfit nearly identical to the one Jackie had on at the West Palm Beach Airport in 1973
A pink coat donned by Melania in 2019 shared similarities with Jackie O’s Chanel suit from 1963
Melania has also channelled some of Jackie O’s business casual attire
Fans were quick to point out the similarities between Melania and John F. Kennedy’s wife Jackie yesterday
Subtle nod: While in Saudi Arabia in May 2017, Melania donned a large gold belt that was a similar shape and style as the belt Jackie wore to the opera in New York City 50 years earlier
Similarities: Mrs. Kennedy wore a white wide-brim hat to a visit to India in 1962. Mrs. Trump sported a similar look in Southampton, England, earlier this month
Style of the times: Both women have sported sunny yellow gowns to formal events. Jackie is pictured in 1973 while Melania is pictured in 2018
Once again yesterday, Melania drew comparisons to Jackie at the festivities alongside her husband, President Donald Trump, as King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit continues.
The 56-year-old wore a pale delphinium pink silk strapless gown by Christian Dior Haute Couture, with off-white Dior suede gloves. She finished the look with matching Dior pale delphinium silk pumps.
And viewers were quick to point out the similarities between Melania and John F. Kennedy’s wife.
Many took to social media to share side-by-side images of the duo, as one wrote: ‘Melania is gorgeous. She has some Jackie vibes going on tonight.’
Others also heaped praise on the ensemble as one wrote: ‘Beautiful gowns! Our First Lady is the pinnacle of elegance and class.’
And another shared: ‘She and that gown are exquisite. It always amazes me how she glows in every color. I don’t know of any other woman who has this gift.’
