First lady Melania Trump’s expensive wardrobe is sparking controversy.
During President Donald Trump and the first lady’s Asia tour in November 2017, Melania’s six-day travel wardrobe cost roughly $42,000, reports All That’s Fab.
While in Japan, Melania Trump wore a $4,800 Fendi coat before wearing a $4,900 Valentino gown for a dinner.
Later, the first lady wore a $12,500 black sequin and lace J. Mendel dress dubbed the “naked dress” while dining with President Joon Jae-in. She later dressed “down” at Girl’s Play 2, an event to promote girls in sports, where she wore a $4,100 Jesus Del Pozo plum overcoat paired with blue $675 Louboutin heels.
But it’s not the first time Melania has worn expensive clothes while traveling, reports USA Today.
While touring Europe with her husband, Melania raised eyebrows after she wore a $51,000 Dolce & Gabbana jacket in Italy — $4,000 less than the average American family’s income, U.S. Census Bureau reports from 2015 indicate.
Such high price tags have repeatedly outraged many.
“Do you know how many people you could feed with that?” wrote one person in the All That’s Fab’s comments section. “PATHETIC!”
“Both she and her disgusting husband are terrible role models!!!” added another. “They really flaunt their wealth excessively!!!!”
Others rushed to Melania Trump’s defense.
“Her husband is a Billionaire, she is a billionaire, the president doesn’t take a salary for being the president,” commented one individual on Newsiosity’s Facebook post about the expensive clothes. “Why is it anyone’s business what she wears, or how much it costs? She is beautiful and people are jealous of her. Donald trump won, people are jealous of that!”
Some pointed out it’s possible she may have borrowed the clothes from the fashion houses.
According to CNN, outfits first ladies wear for state dinners, or historic public events can be gifted and are donated to the National Archives afterward. Other outfits, like the $51,000 designer jacket worn in Italy, must be purchased out-of-pocket.
But Melania Trump isn’t the only first lady who has been criticized for her wardrobe.
Many also blasted her predecessor, former first lady Michelle Obama, for wearing two floral outfits that together cost roughly $6,680 on a trip to Cuba in early 2016 when former President Barack Obama was still in office.
“Or 23 times the average annual salary of a Cuban worker per 2014 data,” wrote Amanda Prestigiacomo in an opinion article for The Daily Wire. “A woman ‘of the people,’ indeed.”