Amid Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s tape scandal, his wife chose what might be described as an interestingly (and, perhaps, unfortunately) named style of blouse for Sunday night’s presidential debate.
Politiquette noted on Twitter that Melania Trump’s top was Gucci’s “pussy-bow silk crepe de chine shirt.”
Quite an interesting fashion choice for @MELANIATRUMP tonight. She’s wearing the @gucci “pu$$y-bow” shirt #Debates2016 pic.twitter.com/jln9uXuqwt
— Politiquette (@politiquette) October 10, 2016
The debate came just two days after hot microphone audio from 2005 was published revealing the Republican candidate speaking crassly about women alongside Billy Bush, using, among other words, “pussy.”
At one point in the conversation, Trump and Bush reportedly discussed Trump’s Days of Our Lives co-star Arianne Zucker.
“I’ve got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her,” Trump was heard saying. “You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait.” He then added, “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.”
Trump has apologized for his comments and called the conversation “locker room banter,” reiterating that sentiment during Sunday night’s debate.
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The top Melania Trump wore retails for $1,100 on Net-a-Porter.com and other high-end websites. According to Net-a-Porter’s description: “Pussy-bow shirts are one of Gucci’s signature silhouettes. New for Pre-Fall ’16, this fuchsia style is cut from silk crepe de chine for a languid drape. We think it’s a chic way to elevate office or weekend looks.”
The pussy-bow style has been around for at least 100 years but reportedly took off in popularity in the U.S. around the mid-20th century. In 2013, Jezebel wrote about the resurgence of pussy-bow blouses, citing a PBS documentary in which Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman spoke about women in top positions seeking to find the appropriate way to dress as a businesswoman in the 1970s and ‘80s: “We used to dress in suits with a skirt and a jacket with button-down shirts and a little bow tie, because that was sort of our interpretation of the man’s tie. … It was our attempt to be feminine but fit into what was then a male world.”
Incidentally, Gucci’s four-story, 45,000-square-foot flagship store is located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 56th Street in Midtown Manhattan at, yep, Trump Tower.
According to Sopan Deb of CBS News, Melania’s decision to wear the top was “not intentional.”
Campaign spokeswoman says this was not intentional. https://t.co/Yuka1Pli2j
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) October 10, 2016
Oct. 10, 9:27 a.m.: Updated with tweet from CBS News’ Sopan Deb.
