What First Lady Melania wore - and didn't wear - to Saudi

When Angela Merkel, Theresa May and Hillary Clinton went to Saudi Arabia they did not cover their heads and it went largely unnoticed. They did not receive the flak that present US First Lady Melania Trump did, when she arrived in Saudi Arabia last week, sans headscarf. The fault for this criticism may not lie with her, but (unsurprisingly) with her husband. If you recall, when Michelle Obama went to Saudi Arabia as First Lady along with her husband, then President Barack Obama, she also chose not to cover her head - and was accused of being "insulting" to Saudi culture by Donald Trump. Now that he is President, it appears his wife has not paid heed to what her husband said two years ago.

Modest dressing is of course, a norm in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since Melania was disembarking from a plane, would she need to cover her head? In fact, if you compare her outfit to the one that Michelle Obama wore two years ago in Saudi, I would argue that Melania 'trumped' Michelle. Melania's black Stella McCartney jumpsuit was fashionable yet completely respectful of the Arab style of dressing. That said, perhaps Melania could have opted for another designer. As chic as the Stella McCartney jumpsuit was, let's not forget that McCartney is British. As an American First Lady making her first foreign trip she could have stuck to an American name. Luckily, her next choice was as American as it gets - a Ralph Lauren safari shirtdress in khaki. This designer is obviously one that Melania likes. She wore a baby blue dress and coat by the same designer for her husband's inauguration, and Ralph Lauren stock soared the next day. Melania added her love of razzle dazzle to the outfit with zebra print pumps.

A local paper, Arab News, even praised her outfit saying she looked elegant. The jumpsuit's shape had the feel of an abaya, and the Yves Saint Laurent gold belt perhaps was unnecessary but since this First Lady is a former model, we expect her to keep things glam.

On her last official trip to KSA, Michelle deplaned wearing a blue and white printed top with black trousers and the usually always 'on point' Michelle looked a bit frumpy. And she didn't look too happy as she disembarked from the plane.

Melania is, of course, not the first First Lady to not cover her head on a visit to KSA. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Laura Bush covered their heads on visits to Saudi Arabia in 2011 and 2006 respectively.

Although, just days after, Melania did after all wear a veil - at the Vatican - as protocol demands for women who have an audience with the Pope. Interestingly, when Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall met the Pope, she chose not to cover her head but when the Royal visited Saudi Arabia she wore a headscarf. Melania obviously has a different view as to where, and where not to wear the headscarf.

Melania proved she is a woman who understands the impact of fashion in her choice of a purple Reem Acra gown for the dinner at Riyadh's Murabba Palace. Its cape-like details are very much in tune with current trends in Arabian dressing and the fact that it was designed by the Beirut-born Acra showed the First Lady appreciates the region's fashion industry.

Reem Acra is now based in New York, and is the designer Melania chose to wear at a dinner at Washington Union Station a few days after she became First Lady. The designer is also a board member on the Dubai Design and Fashion Council.

While she may not be as all-American as her very stylish predecessor, Melania is obviously confident of her sartorial choices. And we doubt she cares for what the critics say, accusing her for being too glam, or for being disrespectful to the Arab culture.

Source: Khaleej Times