Was Melania Trump trying to send a message with her outfit at the palace?

melania trump
(Image credit: Rex)

We all know that when it comes to dressing for official visits, whether it's the Royal family or the First Lady of the United States, there's always a subliminal message.

For example when Meghan was the only one not wearing a brooch at the RAF centenary service, and of course, who can forget THAT Melania Trump 'I Don't Care, Do You?' jacket - even if she did deny it had nothing to do with her husband's policy on immigration.

Now the FLOTUS has landed in the UK with Donald Trump, and for her first evening here, she donned a ballgown as she was welcomed at Blenheim Palace by Theresa May and her husband Philip May.

Melania chose a caped gown by French designer J Mendel, from his spring/summer 2018 collection.

But whilst the gown originally came in green, Melania's stylist, Herve Pierre, requested it be changed to a pale yellow colour for her.

melania trump

Photo: Rex

According to WWD, Pierre said the choice of pale yellow was intentional and was meant to 'pay homage' to the Queen as it's one of her favourite colours. Wherever possible, her sartorial choices pay homage to the country she is visiting, and earlier in the day, she wore a dress by British designer Roland Mouret.

Unfortunately, probably around the same time the couple were enjoying their dinner, a story in The Sun broke, in which Mr Trump said May's Brexit plan would 'probably kill' any trade deal with the US.

It might take a little more than a dress to smooth things over after this.

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.