Fashion Notes: Melania Trump Waves Au Revoir to White House in Classic Chanel

First Lady Melania Trump waved au revoir to the White House on Wednesday morning in a jet black ensemble mimicking the late fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld, former creative director of Chanel.

Mrs. Trump walked across the South Lawn for the final time during her husband’s first term in office wearing an off-the-runway Chanel cropped jacket from the French fashion house’s Pre-Fall 2020 collection.

Underneath is a fitted black crepe sheath dress by Dolce & Gabbana, perhaps Mrs. Trump’s most loyal fashion duo. The dress, from the Spring 2020 Ready-to-Wear collection, retails for about $2,155.

The cropped Chanel jacket, featuring silver buttons emblazoned with the brand’s iconic double C logo, was paired with black suede Bottega Veneta gloves, snakeskin Christian Louboutin stilettos, a rare black crocodile Hermès Birkin bag, and Mrs. Trump’s favorite pair of Bottega Veneta art deco-inspired sunglasses which retail for about $440.

Melania Trump’s farewell to Washington, D.C. ensemble, styled by her friend and personal courtier Hervé Pierre, mimics the iconic fashion codes of the late Lagerfeld who famously headed Chanel for nearly four decades.

Lagerfeld, like Mrs. Trump, often appeared poised, stoic, and carried a thick accent — hers from Slovenia and his from Germany of course. And also like Lagerfeld, Mrs. Trump leaves a fashion legacy.