Resort 2019: Versace’s First Ladies

(Photo: Vogue.com)

Donatella Versace recently released the Versace Resort 2019 look book and in the seventh photo I saw Michelle Obama and Melania Trump in the same body. This was definitely a Twilight Zone feeling.

It may be Twilight Zone-ish, but it’s not dark. When I scanned the collection of Crayon-hued outfits, one word came to mind: mothers. There’s something exciting about being a mother that makes women from all walks of life—from movie stars to schoolteachers—want to activate their maternal side. Ideally a mom wants to make her child’s life better and watching that child grow like a flower is the greatest reward. 

Michelle Obama and Melania Trump are both mothers and both have attained the title of First Lady of the United States. What made me think of Michelle Obama and Melania Trump was a model wearing a houndstooth-patterned cardigan and a gingham pencil skirt. U.S. First Ladies didn’t wear this down-to-earth style until Michelle Obama moved into the White House. Melania tends to wear high fashion with an avant-garde slant, but when she needs to look more casual she throws on a cardigan, slacks and ballet flats. I wonder where she got that notion. 

The looks from Versace Resort 2018 that spoke to me the most were the ones I could imagine everyday women wearing. There’s what I would call a miniskirt dress (really a shirt and dress) with majestic gigot sleeves and printed with twin horse heads and cherubs. With this the model wears legging boots that I doubt the everyday woman would wear, but all that woman has to do is wear bare legs and ballet flats or flip-flops. Even the movie Clueless factors into the fashion in a look consisting of a cardigan, a pleated miniskirt and high-heel legging boots. Stylish suburbia is what these clothes will create. 

The big thing that’s not everyday about these Versace Resort 2019 clothes is the price tag, which is a bit of a shame. It would be fun seeing women in my suburban neighborhood wear these clothes while they push strollers, work a 9-to-5-office job or walk the boardwalk during summer. Women are not just one thing: they can raise a child; they can work and still be there for their child and live a fun full life. They also can be First Ladies, even if they’re the First Ladies of their households.

Push the kids in the stroller. (Photo: Vogue.com)

Clueless style (Photo: Vogue.com)