Ivanka Trump fielded criticism from some quarters for her choice of dress at the 2025 Liberty Inaugural Ball in Washington on Monday.
Unless you’ve been living under the largest rock known to mankind, you’ll know that Ivanka’s father, the ever entertaining, ever controversial Donald Trump, was officially sworn in as president earlier this week. The day marked the beginning of Trump’s second stint as President of the United States, with the real-estate mogul having held the office from 2017 to 2021.
As was always going to be the case, almost every facet of Trump’s big day was scrutinized and examined by internet denizens around the world. In the days following the presidential inauguration, we’ve had focus on Elon Musk’s supposed “Nazi salute”,
there’s been talk about the choice of hat donned by Melania Trump, and wanna-be lip-readers have flexed their muscles in an attempt to discern what Barron Trump may or may not have said to Joe Biden.
To put it in simple terms, there wasn’t much that flew under the radar on inauguration day, and it seems as though even something as harmless as a dress is enough to cause fierce debate online.
The dress in question was worn by Donald Trump‘s daughter, Ivanka, who served as an advisor to her father during his first term in office.
Now, we’ll take the opportunity at this point to go on record publicly airing our view that no one should ever be criticized or called out for something they choose to wear (within reason, of course).
That said, the internet will always do what the internet does best; provide a breeding ground for comments that care very little for morality, decency, or just about anything else. In other words, people are always going to remark on hairstyles, clothing choices, behavioral patterns, speech patterns etc, etc, etc related to celebrities.
And, as stated above, it was Ivanka Trump who appeared to evoke the ire of some online users for her choice of dress to the Liberty Ball on Inauguration Day. Taking inspiration from one of the most influential female icons of the last century, Ivanka wore a recreated version of the gown that Audrey Hepburn donned in the 1954 film Sabrina.
The dress, originally designed by Hubert de Givenchy, is unmistakable, and all the more eye-catching for it. According to reports, Ivanka’s version, a white dress featuring black floral embroidery and a brief train, was crafted by French fashion house Givenchy.
Ivanka also wore a pair of elbow-length black opera gloves, stiletto heels, a diamond choker, and a chignon — complements that almost exactly mirrored Hepburn’s original.
Yet, as is so often the case these days, though Ivanka cut a strikingly beautiful figure in the dress, there were those who took it upon themselves to criticize.
“The longer I look at the details, the more laughable this becomes,” wrote one particularly harsh internet user.
Another added: “The texture and the embroidery on Ivanka’s version look cartoonish, and it lacks the same finesse. Hepburn is incomparable.”
A third chose to hit out at the supposed connection to Hepburn, writing: “audrey hepburn would curse them all. she didn’t survive ww2 and fought against all of what the trump family represents just for her dress to be used like ~this~. so fucking disgraceful.“
“Audrey would have despised Ivanka and her family,” another opined.
Naturally, this only supports one half of the argument, and it must be said that there were plenty of people hailing Ivanka’s beauty and decision to wear the dress on the night.
Meanwhile, Hepburn’s son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, said it was ‘no wonder’ Ivanka chose to pay tribute to his late mother due to their long-standing family ties.
“It is no wonder that growing up in a family which knew our mother as a household name she chose to draw inspiration from her, to seek the ultimate elegance and class reference, for an occasion such as this one – the inauguration and the 32nd anniversary of our mother’s passing and, most of all, Martin Luther King’s day,” he told DailyMail. “What a cocktail!”
Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, have made it clear that they will not be returning to jobs in the White House for Donald’s second term.
What did you make of Ivanka’s dress? Let us know thoughts in the comments.
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