New York Times Devotes Column to the Trumps’ Courtroom Attire: ‘Gentle, Pulled-Together Professionalism and Good Will’

AP Photo/Seth Wenig; AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey; AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey

Former President Donald Trump is currently on trial in New York City after being found liable for fraud related to his company. His two eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are also liable and waiting with their father to hear what their penalties will be. Former First Daughter Ivanka Trump served as a witness and appeared in court to testify about her own involvement in the Trump Organization. But The New York Times, in addition to covering the civil fraud trial and its legal and political implications, also wanted to take a deep dive into what everyone was wearing!

To be fair, the Times has been covering the trial. No one is claiming they aren’t. In fact, you can click these words to see that very coverage, which has its own section. But even then, a column about what the kids are wearing seems… Ok, you can’t spell “trivial” without “trial,” and let’s just go with that.

In the column by Times fashion director and chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman, readers are treated to a delightfully superficial look inside what could have driven the fashion choices of the Trump kids as they each took the stand. Friedman started with Ivanka:

She was the focus of this week’s final scene, flying up from her home in Florida, emerging from the bowels of a black town car to make her entrance in a navy wool coat and navy pantsuit, a black leather tote clutched in one hand, tiny pearl studs in her ears and with her blond hair falling in soft waves around her face, the picture of gentle, pulled-together professionalism and good will.

Indeed, Ivanka provided the most sober, low-key testimony out of all the Trumps who testified. Despite that “pulled-together professionalism and good will,” New York Attorney General Letitia James told the press that the “undue hardship”-riddled Ivanka “benefitted” from her father’s business “personally” despite trying to distance herself from it.

On to the boys, who both wore navy blue suits, just like their sister, “clothed as the perfect supporting cast, in matching pastel ties and shirts.” More details:

Specifically, a pink tie and light blue shirt for Donald Jr. on Day 1 of his testimony and a light blue tie and powder pink shirt on Day 2, a light blue tie and white shirt for Eric, colors that would complement, rather than compete with, their father’s primary shades. Both wore matching brown lace-up shoes and carefully landscaped matching facial foliage.

This is a good strategy to convey innocence or purity, the pastels. It did not work for the Menendez brothers, but then again they murdered their parents with shotguns.

Father Trump wore his usual, but the way Friedman describes it sounds fancier:

…[A] navy suit, bright blue tie hanging extra long, and little flag pin. Not exactly his usual MAGA uniform of red (tie), white (shirt) and blue (suit) but a variation on the theme, perhaps in acknowledgment that the site was not the campaign trail, no matter how much he may use his legal problems to rally his troops.

Some may see a column about courtroom fashion as silly, useless, unnecessary, or missing the point. But here’s Friedman explaining why it’s not just a relief to read about nice suits in the midst of chaos, it’s noteworthy:

Why does this matter? The trials are already history-making. No former president has been brought up on charges while simultaneously running for office. No video recordings are allowed as the case is underway, meaning that much of the visual drama is captured by the still images of the main characters as they enter the courthouse or take their place in court.

Those are the images that will become part of the permanent record. They are images that will seep into our minds, whether we are aware of it or not, and help form our impressions. And those images are shaped in part by the elements within them to which everyone can relate: the clothes.

Read the full article in all its lapel-flattening detail at The New York Times.