While the center of the second presidential debate was supposed to be the candidates’ responses to crowd questions, the interest of the night on social media turned to Melania Trump’s attire.
Last week, an audio release revealed Donald Trump’s 2005 comment that when encountering women, he could, “Grab them by the pussy.” This week, a peculiar outfit choice revealed Melania’s own familiarity with her husband’s language by wearing a Gucci “pussy-bow” blouse, a shirt with a high neckline and bow tied around the neck.
News outlets and Twitter users immediately analyzed the anomaly, but Kate Rowold, IU apparel design professor and fashion historian, said she doesn’t think there is much to theorize.
“As a fashion historian, I would never use a ‘pussy cat bow’ or a ‘pussy-bow’ or any of those names,” Rowold said. “I would just call it a standing collar with an extension to make a soft bow around the neck.”
Even though Gucci’s own name for the shirt does include the word “pussy-bow,” Rowold said the historical design of the shirt is not usually referenced to as a “pussy-bow” blouse or style. Rowold said the neckline dates back hundreds of years when it was first created to resemble the origins of a man’s ascot.
Rowold said she believes the worst that Melania did Sunday evening was wear a shade of pink that might have been a tad too shocking for someone who didn’t even open her mouth.
“I could not begin to interpret the intentions or strategy used by the politicians in our current election, but I think it would be pretty sad if there was any intentional use of bow that had a name that related to some of the unfortunate comments that Donald Trump made in 2005,” Rowold said.
Rowold’s fellow IU associate professor of design and merchandising, Heather Akou, said she thinks there is an equally likely chance there was some intention behind Melania’s outfit selection.
“Politicians around the world, not just in the United States, have a long history of using dress to make symbolic statements,” Akou said. “Some good examples are Madeline Bright during her time as Secretary of Defense, Mahatma Gandhi and Yasser Arafat.”
While any theory of Melania’s attire is difficult to confirm without a campaign-endorsed statement, Rowold said perhaps there are bigger problems to discuss than the name of a blouse.
“Sadly there was very little discussion of the issues, and it’s just an unnecessary attention paid to superficial issues,” Rowold said. “As a fashion historian, I would not give it any attention at all.”
