Melania Trump's Closet Is Full Of An Outdated Accessory That Ages Her

Melania Trump's fashion preferences are often similar to the woman herself: low-key, luxurious, and look just as good in the 2020s as they did in the 1990s. Whether it's the silk slip dresses she favored as a model, the ultra-glamorous gowns of her pre-White House days, or her more recent tailored, high-powered outfits, you'll find plenty of timeless looks throughout Melania's stunning style transformation. One reason for this is that Donald Trump's wife isn't the type to follow fads; instead, she firmly sticks to what she likes and what she knows works for her. But although it has helped establish her signature style, the first lady's habit of clinging to familiar silhouettes also has its drawbacks, one of them being her seemingly unshakeable commitment to an outdated accessory.

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It's unclear what hold oversized belts have on Melania, but she has made them a staple of her first lady wardrobe. Sometimes they're perfectly fine or further elevate a chic ensemble, such as the show-stopping belted Michael Kors skirt suit she wore for French President Emmanuel Macron's 2018 White House state visit. But more often than not, clunky belts either add another look to Melania's list of outdated outfits, do absolutely nothing for her figure, or worse, age her. For instance, her snatched waist was nowhere to be found at the Daytona 500 in February 2020, when she paired a black-and-white dress with a wide, lacy belt that gave her a boxy shape and created the illusion of an incredibly short torso. Just a few weeks later, Melania appeared to shorten her 24-year age gap with Donald by about a decade when she donned a frumpy white shirt dress and a chunky red leather belt during her and her husband's visit to India. 

Melania Trump's first lady fashion fails involving massive belts began almost as soon as she started fulfilling her duties. She stole the spotlight almost immediately after she and President Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia in May 2017 during their first official overseas trip together, with her outfit dividing the internet. 

While she was praised for paying tribute to the country's traditional abaya by rocking a modest black jumpsuit, she was also brutally mocked over the distractingly enormous accessory she chose to pair it with: a gold metallic buckled belt that looked like it was wearing her instead of the other way around. Aside from making her look like she was ready to attend a '70s disco-themed dance party, Melania's chunky belt also had some people wondering if she'd just won a wrestling title or gotten style inspiration from an iconic 1980s cartoon character. "Melania with her WWF lightweight championship belt on," one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter) alongside a photo of the first lady's outfit, while another commented, "1981 called and She-Ra wants her dress back." A third person joked, "I like what Melania has done with the Air Force One seatbelt" (via Yahoo! Lifestyle).

The mockery obviously had little effect on her wide belt obsession as she continued to wear them — and get a lot of flak over them — in the next several years. During her and Donald's visit to the U.K. in September 2025, Melania bizarrely accessorized a yellow off-the-shoulder gown with an oversized lavender belt, making her stick out like a sore thumb at the white-tie state dinner, and proving that we clearly haven't seen the last of her favorite accessory.