Well, that was a surprise. In what may have been a first for a US first lady, Melania Trump did something at the state dinner for China’s leader on Thursday (Sept 24) night that none of her predecessors had likely done before – she wore pants.
Pants! To a black-tie banquet. Especially a black-tie banquet taking place at a highly sensitive time in global geopolitics and economic relations.
Specifically, Melania wore a pair of peony-print Dolce & Gabbana black tuxedo pants with a white Saint Laurent blouse displaying an enormous bow to join her husband in welcoming the China's president, Xi Jinping; his wife, Peng Liyuan; and assorted dignitaries (including many tech executives) to the formal occasion.
The peony print on the pants may have been a nod to that flower’s importance in Chinese culture, where it is a symbol of beauty, wealth and happiness.
In the end though, that subtle gesture was less significant than the norm-busting choice of the pants themselves on an occasion that has traditionally been synonymous with elaborate gowns.
Or at least evening skirts.
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Pants for evening is no longer a radical idea in most situations, but in a city that has become the last bastion of the suit and tie, where staid rules about fashion and the clothing that is fit for office still apply, they were a statement.
Especially in contrast with the more classic dress of Peng – a long gown with a Mandarin collar in red, China’s colour of prosperity – as well as Donald Trump’s tuxedo and Xi’s Zhongshan suit, standard choices both (not to mention the apparently matching navy suits and magenta ties they wore during their meeting earlier in the day).
When it comes to Melania, however, the pants were also entirely on brand.
They reflected the first lady’s continued reluctance to conform to archetypal expectations for first spouses.
And they underscored once again the individual brand Melania has been building since the release of her documentary earlier this year, with its focus on slick black-and-white graphics and luxury labels, onscreen as in her wardrobe (that they also matched the pandas Xi offered to the Atlanta zoo as “envoys of friendship” was probably a coincidence).
Indeed, a Dolce & Gabbana pantsuit has become a uniform of sorts for the first lady since her husband returned to office.
She wore the label for her official portrait in 2025 (the one that made her look like chairman of the board), to the White House dinner with governors the same year and to the State Of The Union address earlier this year.
The look suggests that she views her role less like that of the host of the nation and more like that of an executive in a giant corporation.
The buttoned-up styles also guard against the intrusive eyes and demands of the watching world and the country the first family represents.
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You could see it with the giant bow on the blouse Melania wore to the state dinner, which jutted out like a shield from the shirt’s equally protective high neck.
You could see it in the military-style charcoal Alexander McQueen skirt suit she wore earlier in the day to tour the Smithsonian alongside Peng, with the jacket’s officer collar and side closure.
And you could see it in the Givenchy pinstriped suit she wore to accompany her husband to Joint Base Andrews for the arrival of China's leader.
That’s why, though it would be nice to interpret Melania's choice of pants as a win for women’s liberation everywhere (really, it is ridiculous that it took until 2026 for a first lady to wear pants to a state dinner), it seems unlikely that the motivating factor was gender advancement.
Rather than, say, personal priorities. – ©2026 The New York Times Company/Vanessa Friedman
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
