As soon as the First Lady stepped out to speak during the RNC, I posted on my Facebook page, “The FLOTUS’s fashion choice (Alexander McQueen) for her RNC speech this evening was no accident chosen by designers or stylists. It was a subliminal message of army green with military tailoring that warned you that she is willing to fight for her husband.”
The next day, The New York Times described that evening almost exactly as I did, “Melania Trump Came Dressed for Battle. But Which One?” by Vanessa Friedman (Fashion Director).
All’s fair in love and war, even in fashion; however, anti-Semitism is not fair game in any war.
Diet Prada, Instagram’s fashion critic darlings who call out copycats as their marching orders, turned very ugly on FLOTUS. They compared Melania’s outfit to Adolf Hitler, complete with his notorious moustache. On a daily basis, they invite their 2.2 million followers to rally against different brands by cyberbullying, attacking, defaming, and boycotting brands they feel violate their imaginary standards of fashion folly. They are the “holier than thou” brigade in the religion of fashion. This time, they chastised the First Lady’s outfit and made a visual comparison to fascism and the Nazi regime. They received the usual politically correct praise of stupidity and ignorance based on absolute hate. Any idiot can research military uniforms and find that most countries around the world have similar looks for officers.
In fact, I dare say that most designers have used military inspirations for their collections in one season or another. I myself cherished a Rifkat Ozbek fatigue green, gold-buttoned fitted jacket in the early ‘80s that my boss used to refer to as my “war negotiations” outfit to ensure the best prices on our JCPenney programs. I always find it most interesting that Instagram pages such as Diet Prada, and its self-righteous followers, fail to acknowledge that there was a fashion industry before social media. However, that subject is for an entirely different article.
Adi Heyman, social media influencer and modest fashion trailblazer, had the guts to call out Diet Prada at their own game. “lol? How dare you make a mockery of historic, horrific genocide 17 million souls murdered bc of ethnicity, religion, political beliefs and sexual orientation. Disgusted @diet_prada. The imbalance of the acceptable is absurd. This is hate.”
Moti Ankari, blogger and founder of Ankari Floruss, informed his 196,000 followers of his disgust. “And those who don’t think that post Melania painted as Hitler is problematic…well then don’t stand up for social injustice if you can’t stand up for all. Even if it’s a ‘joke’ we’re not here for it. No one should ever joke or compare anything or anyone to this man. PERIOD.”
The next and final night of the RNC was a “green with envy” encore of deliberate detail. As soon as I saw Melania’s dress, I posted on my FB page, “Once again, FLOTUS is sending you a message, this time without uttering a word. Her neon chartreuse green, soft shouldered, flowing Valentino dress is suggesting that the future with her husband as POTUS will be bright, light and cheerful. The sharp contrast from her military look is to inform you that we must fight, but glory days are surely ahead. I’ll wait as TNYT steals my analysis again!”
I had an exchange with Stephan Rabimov about his recent article in Forbes:
“Last night Melania wore an eye-catching Valentino dress to the Republican National Convention, searches spiked 400% for ‘lime-green dresses’ in six hours.
-Previously in the week, she wore an Alexander McQueen military green jacket ($2,450) and pencil skirt ($890) with a maxi belt to the RNC on August 25. Both items are now sold out. Searches increased 106% for the designer Alexander McQueen in 48 hours.
-Neither designer is American; Melania Trump once again forfeited providing any support for the American fashion industry as First Lady of The United States.”
His complaint is probably the only legitimate one against the choices of designers the White House makes. After all, as you can see, no matter who or what she wears, it trends almost immediately in love or hate. Couldn’t she show support for American designers? Well you see…karma is a witch. She’s a Prada non Grada (persona non grata) when it comes to designers and fashion media alike. Anna Wintour of Condé Nast (nasty) stated that royalty won’t even acknowledge that she’s the First Lady, let alone allow her precious fleet of designers dress her for anything. Besides, most designers dare not manufacture in the U.S. and choose to go to China and spend their savings on labor to further promote their brand.
So, ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the First Lady of The United States, who wears what she wants to tell the world what she wants about who she wants anytime she wants.
If you hate that so much, then go out and vote for whomever you want.
Hey, that’s what freedom is all about - and aren’t we all fighting for that?
Tobi Rubinstein is a retired fashion and marketing executive of 35 years who currently produces runway and lifestyle events for NYFW, specializing in Israel’s leading artists and designers. She is the founder of The House of Faith N Fashion, fusing culture and Torah. Tobi was a fashion collaboration and guest expert for ABC, Geraldo Rivera, Huffington Post, Lifetime, NBC, Bravo, and Arise. She hosted her own radio and reality TV series. Tobi is a mother, wife, dog owner, and shoe lover.