Melania Makes a Statement With Her Hat

It was at times difficult to discern what Melania Trump thought of her husband's inauguration on Monday, owing to the wide-brimmed hat she wore. "Whatever she was thinking was impossible to see—by design," according to the New York Times' chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman.

• Opinion I: Paired with a "tightly buttoned coat and high-neck blouse," the navy and white hat "gave her an air of mystery and inaccessibility," writes Friedman, finding it an "unusual" choice for an inauguration, though "in line with the guarded image Mrs. Trump has cultivated" and "the promise of an imperial presidency that President Trump has dangled."

• Opinion II: It "struck me as something almost appropriate for a funeral," Scott Talan, a public relations expert at American University, tells Forbes of the look. He views the eye-shielding hat as "very intentional," perhaps a sign that Melania, "not letting people see her eyes and looking under the rim out when she wants to," was "wishing she was somewhere else."
• The designer: Milliner Eric Javits has something in common with the Trumps, having recently relocated from New York to Florida. "It's definitely a huge highlight of my career," he tells NBC Washington. "In my hands, it looked like a very sort of humble hat ... And yet, when I saw it on her, it just really came to life." He says the "powerful visual statement" spoke to the first lady's "grace and beauty and presence."

• The memes: Fans online said the hat was a beautiful statement piece, while critics said it brought to mind the fictional thief Carmen Sandiego, McDonald's villain the Hamburglar, and the agents of MAD magazine's "Spy Vs. Spy" comic strip. Some also saw similarities to Beyonce's look from her "Formation" music video.
• Late night: There were also plenty of jokes about Melania using the hat's wide brim as a barrier against her husband, who was unable to reach her cheek for a kiss. "That's not just a hat; it's Melania's very own border wall," quipped Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy Kimmel, meanwhile, said Melania resembled "a goth Al Capone," per the Times.

(More Melania Trump stories.)