Our first lady, Melania Trump, hasn't done anything public this week that I'm aware of — presumably, she's still working on her documentary — but that hasn't stopped her from making headlines. More specifically, it hasn't stopped her wedding dress from making headlines. Major media outlets ranging from the New York Times to the Miami Herald reported that someone had placed a dress up for sale on eBay, claiming it was the same dress the first lady wore when she married Donald Trump in 2005.
Happy 20th Anniversary to Melania! pic.twitter.com/VIcXSQb4QO
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2025
No, Mrs. Trump hasn't fallen on hard times and isn't looking for extra cash, and no, she's not doing it to make a mockery of her marriage. The person who posted it — Svjabc1 in Massapequa — claimed that she'd purchased the Dior gown to wear at her own wedding in 2011, with the help of a mutual friend she shared with the first lady. According to the Herald, the listing read, "Christian Dior wedding dress specifically designed by John Galliano for Melania Trump’s wedding in 2005 to Donald Trump." It eventually made the rounds online, catching the attention of fashion writers and future brides hoping to own a piece of history, even if the bidding started at a whopping $45,000. (For what it's worth, the original price tag for the Trumps was $187,000.)
Eagle-eyed fashionistas began examining the photos on eBay, and they had a lot of questions. The person who posted the gown was able to explain them away, but even so, it turns out the gown is most likely a fake. The listing has since been removed.
Related: The Truth About Melania
According to Women's Wear Daily, a rep for Dior refused to comment on the authenticity of the dress, and eBay chief communications officer Gigi Ganatra said that while the site does focus on the authentication of certain items, such as handbags and jewelry, wedding dresses do not fall under that category. WWD also spoke to a source close to the first lady, who claims that the haute couture gown is still in her possession and stored away somewhere in a closet in Mar-a-Lago.
Also from WWD:
Before exchanging vows with Donald Trump, the former model, whose maiden name is Knauss, chose the strapless haute couture gown in Paris with guidance from Vogue’s Sally Singer and André Leon Talley. Her voluminous and intricate choice required 300 feet of material and 550 hours of work just for the embellishment. Melania Trump’s international shopping trip was detailed in a 14-page Vogue story and led to a February 2005 Vogue cover.
Of course, we all know that Vogue won't put Melania on its cover at all these days, even though she's probably the most cover model-like first lady we've ever had.
📸TBT. 2005
— Baharak (@Baharak_Irani) July 1, 2021
Beautiful Melania featured on the cover of Vogue as Trump’s bride to be in her wedding dress❣️ pic.twitter.com/srWl1wnNZl
The Trumps celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in January, just days after the president took office. They were married on January 22, 2005 at the Bethesda-by-the-Sea church in Palm Beach, Florida.
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