Karoline Leavitt's Frumpy Fringe Jacket Looks Snagged From Her Grandma's Closet

Sometimes, it seems like White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is doing more to put on a beauty show than to give journalists the facts about what President Donald Trump and his cohorts are up to in the nation's capital. In the first few months of her high-power position, she's stepped behind the briefing room podium wearing a variety of hairstyles and makeup looks (including one particular blunder with a Kimberly Guilfoyle influence), and her fashion has been all over the place. 

On April 17, 2025, she posted a photo to her Instagram stories, showing her leading a pack of more sedately dressed women while walking down a hallway in the White House. It was actually a re-post from Trump Advisor Alex Bruesewitz, stamped with "@karolineleavitt and co," and he seemed to have captured the gang on their way back from Starbucks, Leavitt grasping both a coffee cup and her phone in one hand. 

But it wasn't her amazing balancing skills that grabbed all the attention or another one of her flashy and pricey cross necklaces – it was the sweater jacket she wore, a blue froufrou of a wardrobe piece that made her look decidedly less polished than her associates. 

Karoline Leavitt may have been trying to capture the sophistication of Chanel when she strolled down the checkerboard halls of the White House, but rather than looking chic and sophisticated, President Donald Trump's White House Secretary looked more like she raided her grandmother's closet before heading off to the briefing room, yet another instance of her dressing way older than she is.

Chanel's famous tweed fringe jackets have been a staple in high society for years (Jackie Kennedy Onassis wore one), but Leavitt skipped out on the real thing, opting for a faux version from designer Milly, and it couldn't compare. Instead of being a formal blazer, it's actually a cardigan. Instead of the structured shape, the knitwear is tight-fitting, clinging to Leavitt's body — only making the fringe along the bottom stand out more, flaring outward from her hips.

We also have to question the actual length of the fringe at both the hem and around the bottom of each sleeve. The trim on a Chanel jacket is generally shorter, acting as an additional detail and not a central focus, while the inches of fringe on Leavitt's cardigan wouldn't be out of place at a hoedown. We can only guess the amount of practicing Leavitt had to do to coordinate her podium hair flip while keeping that sleeve fringe from stinging her eyes.