Melania Trump's Turkey Pardon 'Fit Is Such A Miss Even Donald Outshined Her

Donald Trump doesn't seem much for White House tradition; just look at the missing East Wing, torn down to make room for his ballroom. But there's one tradition that he's consistently upheld, and that's pardoning turkeys at the White House around Thanksgiving. He was joined for the event by First Lady Melania Trump, and she was wearing an unexpected, mostly monochrome brown outfit featuring an oversized bomber jacket paired with a knitted pencil skirt, a black turtleneck, and stilettos. It's one of Melania's more boring outfits, and in comparison, Donald's characteristic red tie with a black trench coat came off as more stylish, festive, and completely put-together. It seems like Melania just grabbed anything brown from her closet, threw it together, and called it good.

Heather Diehl/Getty

Just the day before, Melania was at the White House for the arrival of the Christmas tree. That outfit — a cream coatdress with red gloves — was definitely a step above her turkey pardon look, so we know that she has it in her to be fashionable for the holidays. Her makeup for the pardon event was also a bit over the top; the heavily lined, smoky eye for a daytime outdoor event just seemed like too much.

Perhaps Melania Trump toned down this year's turkey pardon outfit because of the reaction that she got to her previous outfits for the same event. In 2017, she wore a floral Stella McCartney coat that seemed like it would be better suited as curtains or a grandma's sofa. Then in 2018, her color-block coat was by Dior and reportedly priced at $9,400, making it one of Melania's more expensive outfits. But price point doesn't always equate to style, and it still wasn't doing it for people. She started toning it down in 2019 with an all-brown trench coat look, and she wore a lackluster black and white coat in 2020.

The 2025 pardoning event took place in the revamped Rose Garden, which Donald had paved over. He even started his speech by congratulating himself on the new patio. Perhaps Melania's stiletto heels got stuck in the grass one too many times and that prompted the change? It's definitely a possibility.