11 Outdated Trends The Trump Family Was Caught Wearing

In 2018, just under two years after her father was elected president the first time, Ivanka Trump shuttered her fashion line. At the time, she insisted that her dedication to Donald Trump's administration, not poor sales, fueled this decision. "When we first started this brand, no one could have predicted the success that we would achieve," she said in a statement (via CNN). "After 17 months in Washington, I do not know when or if I will ever return to the business, but I do know that my focus for the foreseeable future will be the work I am doing here in Washington, so making this decision now is the only fair outcome for my team and partners."

Of course, Ivanka isn't the only member of the Trump family with ties to the fashion world. Her stepmother, Melania Trump, was a model long before she moved into the White House. Her younger sister, Tiffany Trump, regularly rubbed elbows with designers in her early 20s. And yet, even with all of these sartorial connections, the Trump family's style still manages to miss — especially when it comes to keeping up with trends. 

It's to be expected that such a high-profile family would face criticism on social media, but the Trumps don't just catch flak for their political views. They also take some heat for their style moves. From suits that don't necessarily stand the test of time to outfits that fell just behind a trend, here are some outdated looks that the Trump family has been caught wearing over the years.

In the 1980s, former businessman Donald Trump became a household name. One could argue his sartorial choices have stayed put in that decade. Look no further than his power suits, complete with shoulder pads that are easy to spot. Of course, like any trend, power suits and shoulder pads do come in and out of style. In 2024, for example, Yves Saint Laurent referenced the silhouette in a new collection. However, the president-elect has been wearing this style of suit his whole life in the public eye, no matter the decade.

Reflecting on Trump's commitment to shoulder pads in an op-ed for The New York Times, menswear expert Derek Guy noted that many businessmen in the '80s embraced the power suit because of what it represented at the time. "Combined with a flashy power tie and a contrast banker collar, thick shoulder pads symbolized the 'greed is good' ethos and the bravado of a new tycoon class," he explained. "Today, Mr. Trump's square-shouldered suits serve as a central part of his presentation as an unapologetic outsider, waging war on an entrenched elite."

A high-fashion power suit is one thing, but an ill-fitting one is another. Despite being made by Italian designer Brioni, Trump's suits are always tailored too long and perpetually creased. As University of Illinois communications professor John Murphy told Mel magazine, "Trump hasn't had a suit that fit the entire campaign, which is remarkable, especially in the wake of Obama." 

The ensemble Ivanka Trump wore the night of the 2024 election looked like the fashion you might've seen on the stage at Harry Styles' 2017 world tour. The former One Direction member's style has pivoted to leather suits and skin-tight sequins since then, but Ivanka seems to be holding on to this fashion moment. 

For the election watch party, Donald Trump's eldest daughter paired a blue velvet suit with a blue satin shirt and black shiny shoes. Now, blue velvet certainly can be a timeless look, but the bright blue velvet combined with the bright blue satin felt like she was putting her own spin on Styles' spin on Ziggy Stardust. Let us not forget, Styles even sported a blue velvet Gucci suit of his own to the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony that would later be added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Suffice to say, when she took the stage at Mar-a-Lago, Ivanka looked ready to perform "Sign of the Times" and "Kiwi."

The outfit was polarizing, to say the least. Some found Ivanka's suit to be tacky, while others suspected the blue hue was a thinly veiled dig at her father's political party (blue is associated with the Democratic Party whereas red is linked to Republicans). Whatever the case, there's no question that Ivanka's blue suit made a splash. In late 2024, an understated "old money" aesthetic was a little more on-trend than, say, a bright and textured pantsuit. 

There was once a time when Donald Trump's youngest daughter would have been the belle of the ball wearing this mini-dress from Philipp Plein. But much like her other family members, Tiffany Trump latched onto a trend a little late. In 2017, she headed to a New York Fashion Week event in a black mini-dress that put an oh-so Trump maximalist spin on a signature look. The silhouette and sparkle felt a little indie sleaze — who can forget Kate Moss' glittery Glasto look from 2005? — but the bold embellishments felt almost 1990s. Alas, Tiffany was stuck in a no man's land between trends.

Phillip Plein's style is nothing short of extravagant, and public figures like Cristiano Ronaldo, Nicolas Cage, and disgraced New York City Mayor Eric Adams have all been spotted in his pieces. Plein would be the first to acknowledge that his aesthetic isn't exactly understated. "I'm a maximalist and I'm proud of that," he said in a 2023 chat with Lucy Gaston for Interview magazine. "I stick to it." 

Look no further than the hem of Tiffany's dress. At first glance, the detail along the bottom of the garment might look like just blocks of either rhinestones or sequins. Turns out, those sparkles actually spell out the designer's name. The maximalism was in full effect, but the outfit seemed like something from a bygone era.

Born in 1977, Donald Trump Jr. was a little too young to fully embrace the '80s businessman look during the actual '80s. But now that he's all grown up, he dresses like a character from "American Psycho"; his love of wide neckties and power suits aren't exactly the most fashion-forward look in the new millennium. 

Like Donald Trump Sr., Don Jr. occasionally lands on a trend, such as the TikTok "corpcore" craze that made a splash in early 2024. Corpcore, as Shopbop's Caroline Maguire explained to Coveteur, puts a spin on the classic workwear aesthetic. "What makes the trend fun is that it goes all the way, lending a bit of camp to the looks we've seen on social and in street style," she said. We're not so sure Don Jr.'s going for camp with his outfits; his version of corporate dressing is more '80s investment banker than 2024 runway.

But a spot of wardrobe refining could take Don Jr.'s look into the current decade; he just needs to ditch his legacy brands. A shopping trip to youthful labels like mfpen or The Row would make his style look more Jr. than Sr.  

When the matriarch of the Trump family visited Egypt during her 2018 tour of Africa, she sported a cream suit and fedora that looked straight out of a Merchant Ivory film. Or Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams" music video — a video that, as you may recall, sparked debate about whether or not it was glamorizing colonialism in Africa. (On a related note, she also donned a pith helmet — a hat with ties to British colonialism — when visiting Kenya during that same tour.)

Though this outfit was very much rooted in the past, Melania is often regarded as the most fashion-forward member of her family. As stylist Lisa Talbot told the Daily Mail in 2024, "Her approach to fashion was bold, unapologetic, and at times even controversial — qualities that made her style memorable and sparked widespread discussion." If there's one thing we know about Donald Trump's third wife, it's that she's not afraid to be bold. As she wrote in her 2024 memoir "Melania," "Sometimes, in order to succeed, you must be willing to take risks and make tough decisions."

Alas, during her visit to Egypt, she looked like she was in the middle of LARPing. Or like a time traveler from the 1920s. Or like an extra from "Out of Africa." When vintage style works, it really works. This, on the other hand, was a bit too costume-y.

In 2023, when "Barbie" ruled the cineplexes, pink was the color of the moment. While the Barbiecore trend was everywhere, it wasn't everyone's thing. As Valerie Steele, the author of "Pink: the History of a Punk, Pretty, Powerful Color" told The New York Times that year, "Pink is the most controversial color in fashion history." 

Evidently, Lara Trump was not ready to move on from the year of "Barbie." In 2024, Eric Trump's wife sure sported a lot of pink on the campaign trail. We're not talking pastel or cherry blossom, but pure Barbie pink; out of all the pink tones to choose from, Lara picked the one that felt oh-so summer 2023. Her Barbie-pink Trump campaign jacket became a signature outfit, worn everywhere from doughnut shop appearances to TikTok videos. Oh, but the jacket wasn't the only pink garment she wore. In August 2024, she donned a bright pink sleeveless dress to the 10X Ladies Conference in Miami. And when Time interviewed her for a July 2024 profile, she posed in a bubblegum pantsuit. 

There's nothing wrong with having a color that makes you feel confident, and the color pink will always have its place, but Lara's wardrobe feels stuck in the Barbiecore era. And it's fair to assume she's a fan of the doll: Let us not forget that she's the same person who dressed up as "MAGA Barbie" for Halloween in 2023.

It's the jacket that birthed thousands of thinkpieces. While making her way to a migrant child detention center in Texas in 2018, Melania Trump donned a green parka with the phrase "I really don't care, do u?" splashed across the back. 

Given where Donald Trump's wife was headed, the message was not exactly a great look. On top of that, the whole outfit fell flat. The Zara jacket, which cost $39, offered a bit of a '60s mod counterculture  look that could've worked in a cool nostalgic way. However, the white skinny jeans, the white long sleeve shirt, and the cinched waist of the jacket made the whole thing feel dated immediately. While slogan tees have come in and out of style over the years, the particularly hard-to-miss message splashed on the back of the jacket couldn't have been broadcast at a worse time. Basically, the whole ensemble aged like milk left out on a tarmac in the middle of the summer.

Now, one could argue that the long jacket feels a bit Liam Gallagher-coded — after all, the rocker is rarely caught without a parka on. What's more, if there's any pair of brothers who know their way around an antagonistic or controversial message, it's Liam and Noel Gallagher. If Melania had decided to debut this jacket at an Oasis reunion show in 2025, we might feel a little differently about it. Suffice to say, timing is everything, and she picked a bad time to wear this particular coat.

In 2018, Ivanka Trump kept rocking skinny jeans even after they began to fall out of style. There are some tell-tale signs that someone is a millennial, be it their choice of social media or how they part their hair, but there may be no bigger signifier than the much-maligned skinny jean. Born in 1981, Ivanka is an elder millennial through and through, and her pant of choice reflects that. For years, the skinny jean had a chokehold on fashionistas, but it began to be phased out in the mid-2010s with wide-leg jeans becoming the choice of Gen Z. Donald Trump's eldest daughter still can't get enough of them though.

In 2017, Ivanka seemed ready to change up her wardrobe. She closed her eponymous fashion line to focus on politics and subsequently joined forces with celeb stylist Cat Williams. Ivanka outsourcing her style would suggest a new look and appetite for getting on-trend. However, she remained in her skinny jeans despite trends moving towards a baggier cut, reserving Williams' magic touch for evening wear meant her casual looks remained decidedly untrendy. 

While denim isn't the same luxury marker as an expensive watch or designer belt, although that would be no issue for such a wealthy woman, it's a surprise that Ivanka hasn't ventured to her nearest department store to try out a baggier cut. The 2020s have not been kind to millennial taste, with an ever-increasing divide between generations sartorially, but Ivanka is loyal to her jeans and generation.

Tiffany Trump wore what looked a lot like a bandage dress that a starlet would've picked for a night out on the town in the 2000s... to support Donald Trump at a presidential debate in 2020. The bandage dress was without question a staple of "it" girl wardrobes in the mid-aughts. Once upon a time, everyone from Lindsay Lohan to Kim Kardashian to Gisele Bündchen to Rihanna wore the skin-tight, form-fitting silhouette to award shows, A-list parties, and nightclubs. It's not exactly a look you'd expect to see someone wear to watch their dad debate the future of America in the year 2020. 

The bandage dress is closely associated with the French fashion house Hervé Léger. It's a brand that is so 2000s, 2007 was even the year the brand relaunched and debuted at New York Fashion Week. Speaking of French designers, Tiffany paired her 2020 debate dress with a giant Christian Dior bag. A giant and pricey Christian Dior bag, that is: The purse reportedly cost a cool $3,000. What's more, she wore platform heels, a style that had a big moment in the 2000s. 

In 2022, two years after Tiffany served the look, searches for Hervé Léger rose 119%. If Tiffany had waited just a couple years, this ensemble might've felt a little more on-trend. Instead, she looked like she'd just been teleported from Les Deux.

Brace yourself for another skinny jean look from Ivanka Trump. The very same year Gen Z tried to lay skinny jeans to rest once and for all, Donald Trump's eldest was photographed leaving her Miami condo in a white tunic blouse, a wide-brimmed hat, flats, and a pair of skin-tight denim pants. While she certainly isn't the only person to continue to rock skinny jeans no matter what the current denim trend might be, that doesn't make it an on-trend choice. 

Many people pivoted away from form-fitting clothing in general during the pandemic, embracing more comfortable cuts and styles. In 2021, Gen Zers even came for millennials on TikTok to make it clear that skinny jeans were not the look of the moment. However, Ivanka would pay this declaration no mind. Yes, even after Harper's Bazaar fashion news director and former skinny jean loyalist Brooke Bobb admitted in a 2020 feature for Vogue that she'd moved on from skinny jeans. And yes, even after a number of outlets and style influencers said the skinny jean era was over. Ivanka would seemingly sooner tattoo the word "millennial" across her forehead than part with her beloved denim style. 

Of course, fashion is cyclical, and it seems Ivanka's go-to denim is ready for its return to the spotlight. In 2024, Paige Adams-Geller of Paige denim told British Vogue that the style is about to make a comeback. "We're not currently in a skinny jean cycle, but it's not far off on the horizon," she said. 

Ivanka Trump's husband also seems to appreciate a form-hugging garment. Jared Kushner's skinny suits are the polar opposite of the suits his father-in-law wears, and they've certainly made an impact. As former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham wrote in "I'll Take Your Questions Now" (via Esquire), "He was Rasputin in a slim-fitting suit."

The skinny suit definitely had its moment in the 1960s when The Beatles sported the silhouette. The look had a resurgence in the 2000s and 2010s with help from TV show "Mad Men" — which was set in the '60s — and bands like The Strokes. Julian Casablancas and company would rock the skinny suit with a vintage tee and Converse, but a present-day businessman in his button-up and skinny tie doesn't have the same effect. In 2020, GQ fashion critic Rachel Tashjian noted that Kushner's suit style of choice didn't feel as fresh as it once did. 

Since the pandemic, suit trends have swung away from the slim cut to more oversized and unstructured tailoring in general. As tailor NYC Leonard Logsdail told GQ in 2024, the skinny suit isn't as timeless as one might hope. "Do you want to be wearing this suit in five years?" he said. "If so, you're going to look like you're wearing a suit that's five years old. Because by that time the fashions will have changed." The fashions may change, but we have a feeling that Kushner's suits will stay put.