![]() You can be sure they were studying - and appreciating - Melania and Ivanka…. "Muslim women, while respecting their religion, also love glamour. "Perfect and stunning," she said of Ivanka and Melania. Following Bigsby as she shopped for a client was like tracking a hummingbird on a sugar spree. This was also the impression of a Palm Beach image consultant I interviewed here, Susan Bigsby, who for 30 years has dressed an elite, diverse clientele - from a transgender executive to first ladies to a Syrian Muslim seeking to Westernize her wardrobe with attention to her cultural modesty. Wordlessly, they projected strength, intelligence, grace - and a timeless wisdom. Despite their apparent ornamentalism, there's little doubt both women made a lasting impression on Saudi women, who would have recognized and identified with their feminine power. It helps that both are beautiful and have fathomless wardrobe budgets. It is true that Western women are encouraged to dress modestly, as Melania and Ivanka did. It came from Saudi women showing their appreciation for the first lady's efforts to raise awareness for breast cancer prevention and treatment in the Middle East, where, at the time, 80 percent of women with breast cancer died of the disease. Both Greta Van Susteren and I were present and can attest that Bush only briefly donned a black scarf festooned with pink ribbons as a gesture of gratitude for the gift. For the record, Laura Bush didn't cover her head either while in Saudi Arabia 10 years ago, despite breathless headlines to the contrary. Nor is going bareheaded considered insulting despite citizen Trump's tweet criticizing Michelle Obama when she chose to leave her head uncovered. Many also noted that Melania Trump declined to cover her head, which isn't required of visiting dignitaries. Otherwise, the importance of adhering to protocol can't be exaggerated in diplomatic relations. Some might have wished they'd had more significant roles, though surely Melania and Ivanka were grateful to be excluded from the all-guy Toby Keith concert. Yes, they were relegated to traditional role-playing in Saudi Arabia. ![]() Preternaturally beautiful, they seemed to glide as apparitions above the sea of dark suits and white robes and must have struck fear in the hearts of men whose culture demands that women be publicly invisible. In that instant, the first lady became every American woman who donned a pink-kitten hat to protest the then-new president - and cemented her status as star of the show: "Melania of Arabia, High Priestess of the Testosterone-Intoxicated, Tiny-Hands Revue." Or something like that.Īll politics aside, Melania and Ivanka Trump stood as beacons of light in a part of the world that remains cloaked in the darkness of religious fundamentalism and oppression. Other-awareness has never been Donald Trump's strong suit, especially as concerns his wife, Melania, who forever-famously appeared to flick away the president's hand when he reached toward her, seemingly trying to mimic Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was holding his own wife's hand.Ĭaptured on film, it was the flick (or slap?) seen 'round the world - and in many cases, cheered. President Trump landed in Italy May 23 with first lady Melania, where an awkward attempt at hand-holding went viral. Witness: His condemnation of Iran, which recently reelected a moderate president, while schmoozing in autocratic Saudi Arabia, whence came 15 of the 19 Sept. This sense was magnified recently by visions of Trump's sword-dancing, orb-fondling and demonstration of ugly Americanism in its latest iteration of massive wealth, arms deals and blind-eye talking - the president's uncanny ability to see only what he chooses and to speak in terms compatible with that vision. ![]() The otherworldliness of the nation's most glamorous beach town makes current events seem at times remote. Which is why I'm sitting in Palm Beach, Fla., practicing Lilly Pulitzer's dictum: "Being happy never goes out of style."Īlso, President Trump is not here, which seems to please everyone given that his frequent forays to his "southern White House" have meant nothing but roadblocks, impenetrable traffic and lousy retail sales. By now you're exhausted by all the head-swiveling news - the terrorist slaughter in Manchester the president's trip to Everywhere and investigation upon investigation of the possible collusion with Russia, obstruction of justice and liars by the dozen.
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