Why we need to stop telling France’s first lady what to wear

So what if she's 64 and wants to wear a short skirt?

donald trump

So what if she's 64 and wants to wear a short skirt?

So Donald and Melania Trump attended the 14th July celebrations in France, and of course, being Trump, he made a creepy comment about Brigitte Macron's body. But as outrageous as that was, something else made me uncomfortable about this visit.

It was the fact that people are still age shaming France's First Lady, and telling her what 'age-appropriate' clothing to wear. So she wore a short skirt. Big deal. Regardless of the fact she's in 'good shape' as Mr. Trump so eloquently put it, she should be allowed to wear whatever she wants as long as it makes her feel good.

A quick glance on social media tells me that apparently, she's not. Comments range from 'she should really cover up, she's not 20 anymore' to 'Oh la la! Brigitte Macron wears a THIGH slit zip-through white dress to meet the Trumps’.

first lady outfits

There's also those comparing her outfit to Melania Trump's. 'Look, how lovely is it that Melania is wearing a below-the-knee dress, Brigitte should surely take note,' blah, blah, you get the picture.

Because, obviously, why wouldn't we pit two powerful women against each other, right? Let's take a moment and imagine what it would be like if we criticised Donald Trump or Emmanuel Macron's outfits.

For example, if we deemed that Trump was too old to wear such a bright blue tie. It just wouldn't happen, would it?

So let's not reduce Brigitte Macron to what she wears, and focus instead on what she does, shall we? Because as far as I can tell, her short skirts have no impact on her heading up an office in France's Government, or her husband's policies.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.