Melania Trump's Most Risque Outfits She Would Never Wear Today

Melania Trump kicked off her first year as first lady as the most popular member of the Trump family, beating Donald Trump and Ivanka Trump by a few percentage points in a 2017 CNN poll. While it may not seem like a huge achievement, considering the disastrous start to Donald's second term as president, the first lady also entered her fifth year in office with a higher approval rating than any other person in the Trump White House. An April 2025 Daily Mail poll demonstrated how she far surpassed J.D. Vance and her husband in terms of favorability among Americans. Though her popularity is likely due to Melania having no official involvement in policy-making and rarely being heard from, it probably doesn't hurt that she's arguably the only style star left in the Trump administration.

Melania's style transformation from model to first lady has been incredible, with several of her absolute best fashion moments ever occurring after she took over from Michelle Obama. While Melania has had some surprisingly outdated looks and even quite a few inappropriate outfits too, she's mastered the art of dressing as a first lady — to the point that even critics can't deny it. "I will say, Melania killed the White House fashion game. Literally the only thing she did, so do not take that one single thing she did away from her," model Chrissy Teigen wrote in a since-deleted tweet, per the Daily Mail. But while her gorgeous coatdresses, chic suits, and sleek gowns have often made her the best-dressed Trump by far, we can't help but miss pre-White House Melania, who wasn't afraid of showing a bit of cleavage and leg, in the 1990s and 2000s outfits she probably wouldn't wear today. 

It's worth noting that Melania Trump was slaying skirt suits long before becoming a first lady. She even wore an elegant white blazer and pencil skirt when she attended the premiere of "Charlie's Angels" in New York City in October 2000. But while first lady Melania would probably button up the jacket and choose a top with a higher neckline, 30-year-old model Melania — then Melania Knauss — paired the skirt suit with a daringly sheer lace top. She finished off the look with strappy gold heels and skipped the jewelry, resulting in an effortlessly chic but still undeniably sexy ensemble. 

In January 2000, British GQ published a series of sultry photos of Melania Trump, with one showing her wearing just an open green vest and another snap featuring her lying on a fur blanket sporting just handcuffs and diamond jewelry while aboard her then-boyfriend Donald Trump's private jet. The shoot was later used by misogynistic critics to shame the former model during her husband's initial presidential campaign. Then, when Donald ran for office for the third time, Melania spoke out to defend her nude modeling in a since-deleted video on X, formerly Twitter, but it completely backfired, riling up naysayers again. 

Several months after Melania Trump's lavish wedding to Donald Trump, she rubbed elbows with the who's who of fashion and media at Fashion Group International's annual Night of Stars gala, at Cipriani in New York City, in 2005. However, she might have been looking forward to heading to bed right after the event since the future first lady donned a silk dress that could easily double as a nightgown for the starry event. It didn't help that it featured lace straps, bows, and the low V neckline common among nighties. 

Melania Trump was just four months away from giving birth to Barron Trump, her first and only child with Donald Trump, when she attended a Cadillac event in New York City in November 2005, but that didn't stop her from stepping out in a sexy dress and towering heels. While Melania would probably consider the design too outdated and revealing nowadays, the Slovenian-born model looked stunning in a gray silk dress with an empire waist as she posed for photos in a 2007 Cadillac Escalade. 

Melania Trump's days of rocking plunging necklines like at the 2001 Oscars (pictured above) appear to be far behind her, as are the first lady's days of showing off her bikini body. Throughout Melania's career in the fashion industry, she modeled bikinis and lingerie plenty of times, and among her most memorable photoshoots was the one of her posing in a gorgeous yellow, pink, and green two-piece swimsuit and hot pink glasses for Tatler magazine. The former model also once appeared in a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, sporting a sexy black bikini while hugging an adorable inflatable whale.  

The baby-doll silhouette was all the rage in the early 2000s, and Melania Trump, much like everybody else, enthusiastically hopped on the trend. She attended the Marc Jacobs show at New York Fashion Week in 2004 sporting a pair of jeans from Levi's, for which she served as a spokesmodel at the time, and a flirty pink baby-doll top. Most of the material was sheer, allowing Melania to put her figure on full display. As if the look couldn't be more of its particular era, she also had layered gold necklaces and a deep side part. 

Melania Trump gave all the glamorous Playmates a run for their money when she attended the Playboy 50th Anniversary celebration in New York City in 2003 alongside her future husband, Donald Trump. Sporting jet-black hair, the model looked fierce and gave Goth girl realness in a figure-hugging LBD, which highlighted not only her impressive physique but also her assets as she smized for the cameras alongside Former Playmate of the Year Victoria Silvstedt. Melania kept the accessories simple, sporting just a pair of large diamond earrings and a ring, along with a black handbag. But even so, we doubt she'd recreate this look nowadays.