Melania Trump embraces monochrome for Xi visit, but her boldest look with China’s first couple came 9 years ago

Melania chose Givenchy when she joined Trump at Joint Base Andrews on September 23 to personally greet Xi and Peng as they arrived for the state visit. She wore a dark Givenchy skirt suit over a simple white T-shirt, pairing the fitted jacket with a matching knee-length pencil skirt and pointed black pumps. The streamlined white top softened the otherwise formal suit while keeping the black-and-white palette that would reappear throughout the visit. Melania wore her hair loose in soft waves as she stood beside Trump at the end of the 100-foot red carpet laid out for the Chinese couple. The Givenchy look also contrasted with Peng's arrival outfit: China's first lady stepped off the aircraft in a waist-defining slate-gray dress with a Chinese-style collar and long skirt, finished with a pale pink silk scarf.

Melania switched designers the following morning, choosing Alexander McQueen as she and Trump formally welcomed Xi and Peng to the White House on September 24. Her black wool-and-mohair light-tweed jacket was cut close to the body and featured an asymmetric four-button fastening and high wrapped neckline. She paired it with a matching McQueen knee-length skirt and black Christian Louboutin pumps. The unusual closure of the jacket gave the otherwise classic skirt suit its most distinctive detail. Contemporary fashion coverage noted that its overlapping neckline visually recalled elements of a Mandarin-style collar. Melania kept her accessories to a minimum and wore her hair down, leaving the jacket's sculpted neckline and fitted silhouette as the focus. The all-black ensemble accompanied one of the most ceremonial portions of Xi's visit, as the two couples participated in the formal state arrival before a military review in the Rose Garden.

Melania did not change after the morning ceremony, instead taking the same Alexander McQueen skirt suit to her separate engagement with Peng at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art. The different setting gave a clearer look at the construction of the jacket, particularly its nipped waist, asymmetric front and high neckline. Melania again paired the suit with black Christian Louboutin pumps. Peng chose a markedly different silhouette for the outing, wearing a deep navy velvet dress with long sleeves, pale piping around its traditional collar and a silver floral brooch. The first ladies toured James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room and viewed an 18th-century Qianlong-era porcelain vase before meeting students and watching a children's performance. It was their first public appearance together since 2017.

Melania made the biggest departure from conventional first-lady eveningwear when Xi and Peng returned to the White House for the September 24 state dinner. Rather than wearing a floor-length gown, she appeared at the North Portico in an oversized white Saint Laurent cotton-poplin blouse tied into an enormous bow at the neck. She tucked it into black Dolce & Gabbana cigarette trousers woven with a subtle peony brocade and added a wide black silk Dolce & Gabbana cummerbund. Pointed black Christian Louboutin pumps completed the look.

Melania brought an American designer into the wardrobe rotation for Xi's final day in Washington on September 25. For tea with Xi and Peng in the White House Red Room, she wore Ralph Lauren's Annabeth Grain de Poudre jacket in Icon Navy, paired with matching navy flared trousers. The jacket featured military-inspired detailing and a defined waist, while the flared pants created a noticeably different silhouette from the narrow Dolce & Gabbana trousers she had worn the previous evening. The monochromatic navy look accompanied Melania from the intimate White House tea to the final public events of the visit. Trump and Melania later joined Xi and Peng at the National Archives, where the Chinese couple viewed the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Nine years earlier, Melania took a dramatically different approach when Xi and Peng arrived at Mar-a-Lago for their first meeting with the Trumps. For dinner at the Palm Beach estate on April 6, 2017, Melania wore a bright red Valentino midi dress with wide shoulder straps, a square neckline and three-dimensional daisy appliqués scattered across the fabric. The bold color was especially notable given the guests. Red traditionally symbolizes happiness and good fortune in Chinese culture, and fashion coverage at the time interpreted Melania's choice as a possible sartorial nod to Xi and Peng. The bright red, floral-appliquéd Valentino of 2017 has given way to a considerably more restrained palette and an emphasis on sharply constructed tailoring — from McQueen's asymmetric tweed jacket to Ralph Lauren's navy pantsuit and the Saint Laurent-Dolce & Gabbana combination she chose instead of a state-dinner gown.