Hats, scarves and silhouettes - first fashion looks

Inauguration day is all about pomp and pageantry.

On a day with relatively little space for words, outside the incoming President's address, but lots for spectacle, the clothes worn on this world stage - the colour, cut and details - take the spotlight.

For some it is a chance to communicate strength or elegance, for others it is a chance to try to say something about a broader political message.

Melania Trump kicked off inauguration day with an outfit that has all the hallmarks of her favoured First Lady style: sharply cut, with spiked heels and a dramatic flourish via the headgear. It is simultaneously serious and chic.

It also speaks to her love of hats, which has sometimes got her in trouble – for example her widely criticised colonial-style pith helmet on safari in Kenya.

Hats have long been a staple of First Lady inauguration dressing, from Jackie Kennedy's pillbox hat to the hats worn by Nancy Reagan to each of her husband's inaugurations, the first one "Reagan red" and the second one blue.

But while some hats feel like an addendum to an outfit, others take on more main character energy – as does Melania Trump's today.

The brim is wide enough and the contrast between the cream ribbon and navy hat big enough that it draws the eyes upwards – even if Melania's eyes remain somewhat hidden underneath.

First Lady Jill Biden wore head-to-toe blue on her final day as First Lady and today, as she awaits the Trumps ahead of the Inauguration ceremonies, she is yet again wearing a purplish blue from head to toe.

Blue is a very on-brand colour for the entire Biden family and it has come to represent the administration of the last four years.

At her husband's swearing-in ceremony in 2021, Jill wore a blue coat created by designer/founder Alexandra O'Neill for the New York–based luxury womenswear label Markarian. It reportedly quintupled sales for the designer. It was custom made and embroidered with Swarovski crystals, plus had a pandemic-era matching face mask.

Both Bidens have chosen today to dress in clothes by the all-American designer Ralph Lauren, whose clothes and back story are often seen as synonymous with the American dream.

It comes as no surprise: Jill has worn his clothes throughout the last four years and was at his fashion show in the Hamptons last September.

Her husband recently awarded Lauren the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the nation's highest civilian honour - and in the process made him the first fashion designer to receive the distinction.

Ralph Lauren suits have been a fitting uniform of choice for the outgoing president. On the White House website as he leaves office, it sums up his presidency: "for all Americans, a country for all Americans, a future for all Americans."

You could argue his Ralph Lauren suits are also designed to not leave any Americans out – never straying too far from classic blue and classic lines.

First daughter Ivanka Trump matched Melania's serious colour palette with an emerald green skirt suit with a matching hat.

The hourglass silhouette – the cinched in waist and fuller skirt – felt pointed and intentional. It was reminiscent of Dior's glamorous New Look, which ushered in a new era in fashion after the second world war.

The asymmetry of the cut, however, sounded a note of continuation: Ivanka wore a white Oscar de la Renta jacket with an asymmetric handkerchief hem for inauguration day in 2017.

The first daughter's outfit feels like it could be harking back to the work of Adolfo Sardiña, a Cuban-born American fashion designer who started out as an apprentice milliner at Bergdorf Goodman in the late 1940s and went on to be known for his spectacular hats, which were worn by Nancy Reagan to both of her husband's inaugurations.

The lawyer and wife of Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Usha Vance's most high profile appearance to date was speaking the 2024 Republican National Convention. For the occasion she chose a cobalt blue off-the-shoulder Badgley Mischka dress, which retails for $495 (£400). According to a spokesperson speaking to industry website WWD, Vance must have bought the garment herself as the brand wasn't consulted.

But there were clear signs of a pivot to more high-fashion choices this weekend in Washington, when the incoming Second Lady wore a custom black velvet gown by Oscar de la Renta for the Vice President's Dinner and a smart white double-breasted coat to the wreath-laying ceremony in Arlington cemetery earlier in the day.

Today, she chose an overcoat with a strikingly fashion-forward detail: a scarf intentionally tucked into her waist-height belt. Is it a sign of a more stylised image to come as Vance takes her place as the second lady?