5 Outdated Looks Usha Vance Was Caught Wearing

A new player in the Trumpverse, J.D. Vance's wife Usha Vance is a breath of fresh air among the women in Donald Trump's circle — at least when it comes to beauty and fashion choices. She's shown she's not taking glam tips from Melania Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle, or other MAGA women. Usha, who worked as a lawyer up until her husband became vice president, hasn't made the same makeup and hair blunders that many female Trump aides and supporters have, such as cakey makeup, overlined brows, and obvious hair extensions. Instead, she embraced her natural beauty by keeping her makeup minimal and her gray hairs undyed. When it comes to style choices, she has been a lot less flashy and more practical than Melania and her endless array of expensive designer outfits, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her leather looks, and Kristi Noem and her cowboy cosplay.

Usha revealed in an interview with The Free Press (via The Daily Beast) that she "had the wardrobe of a person with three children who likes to do things outdoors, who has a dog, who doesn't like things to be too precious," and these were the clothes she'd worn throughout J.D.'s campaign. She's since proven she can pull off more glamorous second lady looks for official events, such as the blush pink Oscar de la Renta coat she'd worn for Donald's second presidential inauguration and her shimmery Reem Acra blue dress for the inaugural balls in January 2025. But for the most part, Usha has stuck to simple, professional, and low-key styles.

However, considering Usha prefers practical and functional over stylish in terms of clothing, it should probably come as no surprise that some of her looks haven't been the most fashionable. Check out the outdated looks Usha Vance was caught wearing.

If there's one pair of shoes Usha Vance can't seem to live without, it's her senior citizen white sneakers. She has been spotted rocking these chunky shoes a few times already since becoming second lady and has shown no sign that she's ditching them anytime soon. As seen in photos shared by Usha on Instagram in April 2025, she donned the dated-looking sneakers for a meeting with the Ohio State football team at the White House. "Congratulations to Ohio State on an amazing season and 9th National Championship win — Go Bucks!" she wrote alongside the snaps, which showed her rocking a white blazer and red dress, a clear nod to the team's colors. While her outfit definitely called for white shoes, she could have chosen something a bit more formal than sneakers for this particular event, especially since everyone else wore suits and dress shoes. 

Usha seemingly hinted that the outdated sneakers were here to stay when she wore them again days later in Italy, which she and J.D. visited as part of an international tour. She wore the shoes alongside a navy blue coat and gray dress as she and her family explored some of the country's cultural sites. While we can't fault her for choosing a practical pair of sneakers for a day of sightseeing, she could have opted for a design that didn't scream retirement home or ER nurse.

Usha Vance brought back another outdated trend when she joined Vice President J.D. Vance for a breakfast meeting with Ireland's Taoiseach Micheál Martin and his wife Mary in March 2025. In a post shared by J.D. on Instagram, Usha could be seen standing next to her husband as the foursome posed for a photo together. "Usha and I were honored to host Taoiseach Micheal Martin and his wife, Mary, for breakfast at the Naval Observatory, followed by a great meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office. It was a great day for celebrating our longstanding alliance with Ireland," J.D. wrote on Instagram alongside the pictures.

For the occasion, the second lady wore a black turtleneck, blue-green pencil pants, black heels, and a double-breasted navy blue blazer featuring gold buttons. Usha might have been trying her hand at sartorial diplomacy with her jewel-toned pants, though she was off by a few shades if this was her attempt to give a nod to the Irish national flag. However, they also looked like something she'd worn when she was studying for her law degree at Yale Law School in the early 2010s — when colorful pants had a moment.

The vice president did his own subtle brand of fashion diplomacy, revealing during the meeting that he wore a pair of shamrock socks in honor of the Irish leader and his wife. "The president is a very big fan of conservative dress, and so if he notices these socks, you have to defend this as an important part of cementing the Irish-American relationship," J.D. joked, per The Independent.

J.D. Vance had been a politician for just a year and a half when he was named the Republican nominee for vice president, giving his wife Usha Vance little time to prepare for the attention that came with becoming part of Donald Trump's circle. Usha told The Free Press (via The Daily Beast) that after Trump chose her husband as his running mate, that "a switch flipped, and it's not like it came with a whole new wardrobe and stylist and everything." Usha knows she likely won't be taking the style queen crown from Melania Trump anytime soon, admitting she's never been the fashionable type. But this apparently hasn't been an issue when it comes to her being accepted into the MAGA fold. "For what it's worth, my reception into this world — and I'm not from a particularly wealthy background, not from a very fashion-oriented background personally or professionally — has been really positive. People don't seem to care all that much what I look like," she added.

However, clothes don't need to be trendy to look good on someone. Unfortunately, the dated outfit Usha wore during the couple's trip to Germany in April 2025 was neither fashionable nor flattering. The Vances and their children, Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel, visited the Ramstein Air Base, where they met U.S. Air Force Gen. James Hecker and toasted service members. For the outing, Usha donned a colorful pleated skirt, blue button-down shirt, cream cardigan, and white pointed-toe slingback heels. Not only did the skirt look like a relic of the 1960s, but the whole outfit also gave granny in the worst way possible. While it was consistent with Usha's comfort over style fashion mindset, it aged up the then-39-year-old second lady.

Usha Vance often looked dressed for comfort when she joined her husband, J.D. Vance, on the campaign trail in 2024. For a rally held at his alma mater, Middletown High School in Ohio, in July of that year, the future second lady wore a simple cream top and gray pants that looked comfortable enough to be worn as loungewear. She went for bolder colors when picking out her outfit for a visit to a manufacturing plant in Wisconsin the following month, but she still looked casual and relaxed in a cream knitted top tucked into a pair of wide-legged red trousers. 

However, Usha — who made history as the country's first Asian-American, first Hindu, and first Millennial second lady — had never looked more right at home than when she rocked a pair of low-waisted skinny jeans and a tight, sleeveless black top for a September 2024 campaign stop. She was photographed sporting the millennial core 'fit when she and her husband sat down and chatted with customers dining at a local restaurant in Greenville, North Carolina. The look showcased Usha's toned figure (including her incredible arms) and made her look years younger, but we also wouldn't be surprised if someone said this photo was a throwback from the mid-2000s.

Usha Vance served quite a few fashion moments during her family's six-day trip to Italy and India in April 2025. She looked stunning and elegant in a monochromatic ensemble consisting of a white blazer, cream blouse, and matching pleated skirt when she, her husband J.D. Vance, and their three children Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel landed in Rome. The second lady was also a vision in red when she was photographed stepping out of their plane in New Delhi rocking a sleeveless red top, high-waisted red midi skirt, and strappy nude heels. She followed this up with a chic maxi dress with light blue and white stripes that perfectly complemented her gorgeous skin tone.

However, Usha failed to get straight As on her international tour report card due to a dated and frumpy outfit she sported in Italy. She attended a Good Friday service at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City with J.D. and their kids wearing a loose-fitting dress with a strange black, white, and gray print. The print and the dress's unflattering cut did Usha no favors and instead clashed horribly with her husband's impeccably tailored suit.

Usha did manage to redeem herself with another black outfit when she and J.D. returned to Rome a few weeks later for the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV in May 2025. She looked every inch a second lady in a midi-length, mock neck black dress with fitted elbow-length sleeves and matching pumps.