As the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump launched the Be Best campaign with anti-bullying advocacies as one of its focal points. And a recent analysis of her fashion choices suggests that they might be a link between that and her love of wearing sunglasses and hats in public.
Various reports over the years have taken note of how much Trump wears sunglasses and hats in her public appearances even though when he is not in London. Fashion psychology expert Dawnn Karen told Mirror (via Daily Express) that there may be a deeper meaning to it.
“She tends to wear sunglasses and hats to shield herself from the public eye. As she's stated in previous interviews, she often feels as though she is being bullied,” Karen commented about Trump’s favorite accessories. “I believe that the hat serves as armour of some sort. When she's looking out into the audience, she cannot see the entire crowd due to her sunglasses or her hat."
Back in 2018 during her solo trip to Africa, Trump told ABC News that she feels “bullied” while speaking about her Be Best campaign. “I could say that I’m the most bullied person in the world. … One of them, if you really see what people are saying about me,” Trump said. “That’s why my ‘Be Best’ initiative is focusing on online behavior and social media. We need to educate the children [about] social, emotional behavior.”
Dawnn’s analysis came after Trump faced online backlash for her fashion decision during the public commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France. At the said event, she was wearing a black coat dress, black stilettos, and a pair of oversized sunglasses to complete the look.
Later, people on social media commented that it was “disrespectful” of Trump to keep her sunnies on all throughout the affair. Some netizens have even compared her to the first lady of France Brigitte Marie-Claude Trogneux-Macron who did not wear sunglasses the entire event.
This was not the first time Trump got in trouble for the clothes of her choice. Last year, she was caught in a little controversy when she wore a Zara jacket with big text letters that read, “I REALLY DON’T CARE. DO U?” The first lady wore it while boarding a plane to the detention centers for immigrant children with parents seeking asylum in the U.S. Trump later confirmed that she meant to wear it to send a message.