KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:
From head to toe, a first lady's look is heavily scrutinized. Melania Trump is used to that sort of attention. She was on the cover of Vogue in her Dior wedding dress. She's modeled for Harper's Bazaar and Sports Illustrated's swimsuit calendar. She also sold her own line of costume jewelry and watches on QVC.
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MELANIA TRUMP: They are really special unique pieces designed from my own ideas, as well from my own jewelry box.
MCEVERS: Soon the whole world will be taking note. As NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports, what any first lady wears says a lot.
ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: The first lady can make a fashion statement like no one else. For that matter, she can make a difference during the campaign. Take the time Michelle Obama appeared on "The Tonight Show" wearing a mustard yellow sweater and printed silk shirt. When Jay Leno asked her what she was wearing, she responded J. Crew.
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MICHELLE OBAMA: We ladies, we know J. Crew.
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BLAIR: The message came through. Ikram Goldman was Mrs. Obama's fashion consultant at the time.
IKRAM GOLDMAN: The idea of her being inclusive was very important. And I think it was important to other people who were looking at her to feel like they can have access to that as well.
BLAIR: Obama also championed young American designers. And when the first lady of the United States wears something you made, it's life-changing. Jason Wu's career took off when she wore his one-shouldered white silk chiffon gown to President Obama's inaugural ball in 2009. Goldman helped select the gown, but kept it a secret until that night. She says when Jason Wu saw it on TV, he called her.
GOLDMAN: He was crying. He was shocked. He was happy. He was - he couldn't believe it.
BLAIR: While Michelle Obama was embraced by the fashion industry, Melania Trump comes from - it. Trump was a model and often wears European designers - Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana - most of which she's reportedly bought off the rack.
ROBIN GIVHAN: It speaks to a bank account. It speaks to a particular kind of social life.
BLAIR: Robin Givhan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion critic for The Washington Post. She describes Melania Trump's look as body conscious and expensive.
GIVHAN: There is polish to it, a glamour to it, but not in a particularly personal or individual way.
BLAIR: But already her choices are making an impact.
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TRUMP: Thank you very much. You have all been very kind to Donald and me.
BLAIR: For her speech at the Republican National Convention this summer, Mrs. Trump wore an ivory cotton and silk dress with sleeves that billowed at the elbows. The dress, by Serbian-born designer Roksanda Ilincic, goes for a little more than $2,000. It reportedly sold out in the days following Trump's speech. Meantime, Washington, D.C. is getting ready for a very different style of first lady.
INGA GUEN: She would look tres chic, tres, tres, tres chic in this. And then we have another Oscar de la Renta.
BLAIR: For 22 years, Inga Guen again has owned a dressy consignment shop in Washington. She describes Melania Trump's style as daring with a slightly eccentric European sensibility. She says she's already had three new clients come into her shop who've been hired by the new administration.
GUEN: I have no idea how they heard about me, but I dressed them. And they were so, so very happy to have met Melania Trump.
BLAIR: There's been some seam-splitting in the fashion industry over whether or not to work with Melania Trump. Some designers have said absolutely not. Others say it would be an honor to dress any first lady. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.
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