Looking back, no FLOTUS mastered the statement-making hat quite like Jackie O. “She wore a Halston hat to her husband’s inauguration at a time when hats were going out of fashion,” fashion historian Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell explains to Glamour. “It was a big moment for Halston, because Jackie made hats look young, modern, and very chic. It really put him on the map.”
Since Kennedy, first ladies including Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, and Hillary Clinton have all accessorized with hats for key public events, which historians say is a result of their British counterparts’ influence. “The royal family, who are constantly wearing hats, have a big impact on first ladies, especially since Kate Middleton came onto the scene,” Chrisman-Campbell notes. “American First Ladies don’t have to wear hats, but what the royal family wears factors in.”
And as for how Trump’s now infamous white hat will stand the test of history?
Milliner Eric Javits, whose hats have been worn by first ladies like Clinton and Laura Bush, tells Glamour he thought Mrs. Trump hit all the right notes in that Hervé Pierre hat: “I have to congratulate both of them. Hervé has impeccable understated taste…[and she] balanced style and protocol for someone of her position.”
Charleston thinks it was one of her strongest looks as FLOTUS to date: “[This latest outfit] makes it look like she took the state visit very seriously. I wouldn’t be surprised if she practiced doing a double cheek kiss with that hat on. And she really she pulled it off.”
“It’s ironic because hats hide your face and they call attention to you,” Chrisman-Campbell adds. “She’s hiding under the hat, but then everybody is looking at the giant hat.”
According to historians, all off the brouhaha around Trump’s hat illustrates how difficult a tightrope first ladies are forced to walk when choosing what they wear, hats included.
“It’s much easier to be remembered negatively,” Charleston says. “Melania will be remembered for wearing heels to get on Air Force One to go to a flood zone. Michelle Obama was criticized for wearing Lanvin sneakers to go work at a soup kitchen.”
“America want to see its first ladies in a certain way,” she continues. “You can get away with wearing a quirky sweater instead of a jacket like Michelle Obama did, but if you do more than that, you get into trouble.”
From Martha Washington to Melania Trump, here’s a look back at first ladies and their most memorable hat moments.
