MELANIA'S HAT OVERSHADOWS TRUMP'S INAUGURAL

More than what US President Donald Trump had to say in his inaugural speech, it was probably what First Lady Melania Trump was wearing that went viral on social media.

- RICKY TOLEDO & CHITO VIJANDRE

It was that wide-brimmed boater hat, in particular, concealing her eyes and keeping well-wishers and media at bay. Even her husband had to struggle to manage a kiss.

"It's her very own border wall," quipped Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show, adding, "Was she there for the inauguration or to kill Indiana Jones?" On Meta, it was declared "Dark Maga" and "mob wife at a funeral." Vanessa Friedman, chief fashion critic of the New York Times, felt the look was "more royal family governess than necessarily American first lady."

This is no surprise since the Trumps are known for their fondness of the British royal family. Princess Diana wore a similar style in white during a 1983 tour of New Zealand but by tipping the hat backward and wearing her "people's princess" smile, she gave it a cheery vibe. The present Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, was just as friendly sporting an enormous saucer-like hat by Philip Treacy for the monarch's birthday parade in 2023.

There's nothing unusual about wearing hats at the inauguration, of course, since previous first ladies have done so: Mamie Eisenhower wore them with her fur coats and giant floral corsages. Jackie Kennedy had a matching pillbox hat with her A-line dress and coat by Oleg Cassini, and Nancy Reagan did all-Hollywood glamour matching a red hat with a red coat. The last one to wear an inaugural hat was actually Hillary Clinton but just like her predecessors, the head gear was above the eyes, the better to show the nation, and the world, the face of the new administration.