Melania Trump caused controversy again by wearing this on her African trip

(Image credit: Rex)

Melania Trump isn't a stranger to controversy when it comes to her fashion choices (and her husband's politics, let's be honest). Earlier this year, she wore the infamous I Really Don't Care jacket to visit immigrant children separated from their parents.

There have also been rumours she's been trolling Donald Trump with her outfits this whole time, and recently, a hat she wore prompted followers to think it was a call for help.

Now another choice of headgear has caused an uproar. The FLOTUS has been visiting Africa, and during a safari tour of Kenya, she wore a pith helmet.

It didn't go down too well, given its link with colonialism in the continent - it used to be worn by military personnel who were in the colonial armies, from countries such as Britain, France and Spain.

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This has prompted many to call out her outdated view of Africa, and the impact of her sartorial choices.

Melania has since spoken out about the incident, saying her wardrobe shouldn't every be the focus.

She said, 'You know what, we just completed an amazing trip, we went to Ghana, we went to Malawi, we went to Kenya, here we are in Egypt. I want to talk about my trip and not what I wear.

'That’s very important what I do, what we’re doing with USAID and what I do with my initiatives. I wish people would focus on what I do, not what I wear.'

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.