Mark Zuckerberg may have been distracted by Lauren Sánchez’s boudoir bra, Donald Trump may have stared daggers at the unyielding brim of Melania’s hat, but at Monday’s presidential inauguration, fashion observers around the world had only eyes for the president’s eldest daughter, Ivanka.
From the green Dior skirt suit she wore to watch her father take the oath of office, to the custom Givenchy silk taffeta dress she had made for the Liberty Ball that night, we loved the clothes, admired the hair and we thought it looked strange. familiar.
Because the woman Ivanka most resembled on this historic occasion was our own Kate, Princess of Wales, a woman who has been perfecting her image on ceremonial occasions for 14 years and who, at 43, is Ivanka’s exact contemporary. .
Evidently, the President’s daughter has been taking notes from our future Queen, and not just in the sense that she’s upped the timeless elegance and moved several steps away from the bolder style she favored during Trump’s first term. (For Trump’s 2017 inauguration ceremony, she wore an ivory All American pantsuit with a long asymmetrical jacket and, for the evening dances, a nude full-skirted dress dotted with sequins and slicked-back hair, worlds far from the minimal elegance of Monday night). .
Ivanka appears to have been studying the Princess of Wales’ wardrobe choices and following her lead all the way to the designers themselves.

Pictured: Ivanka Trump before her father’s second inauguration (left) and Kate Middleton during an official visit to Scarborough in 2022 (right)


Pictured: Ivanka attending the National Prayer Service l in Washington DC (left) and Kate Middleton at the 2021 Christmas Carol Service at Westminster Abbey (right)
On Tuesday, she attended the National Prayer Service wearing a red wrap dress from one of Kate’s favorite brands, Suzannah London. With its bright red bow at the neck, it’s almost identical to the Catherine Walker Beau Tie wrap dress that Kate first wore to her carol service in 2021 and which is now nicknamed the “Christmas dress.”
That Ivanka chooses a British brand for a launch event is quite a statement: it says a lot about British fashion, but it also says a lot about how she hopes to reframe her image.
Graceful, elegant, conservative but very photo-op conscious is what you get with the British princess, who has mastered the figure-flattering long silhouette that we now associate with royalty in public service. A color block dress with fitted bodice and flared skirt with a large bow at the neck to break up the solid color, and matching suede high heels, is classic Kate. Ivanka copied her look almost to the letter, right down to her long, flowing hair.
On opening day itself, Ivanka’s forest green Dior couture jacket skirt suit with matching hat, Lady Dior bag, and black heels looked like an outfit straight out of Kate’s book about Westminster Abbey and its walks. And if you check out the Princess of Wales’ outfits, you’ll find that she wore a similar pillbox hat to Ivanka’s to church on Christmas Day last year. He also wore a green LK Bennett suit with matching hat in March 2012.
Even the kids — Ivanka’s daughter Arabella Rose, 13, and sons Joseph, 11, and Theodore, eight — got a royal makeover for the inauguration. The brief was clearly simply to dress them as Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis at the annual church service, which is how heirs to the British throne have dressed for at least half a century.


Pictured: Ivanka Trump at the inaugural ball this week (left) and Kate Middleton at the 2023 BAFTAS (right)
For the evening’s prom, Ivanka’s stunning white embroidered Givenchy gown was accessorized with long black opera gloves that recalled one of Kate’s most striking looks of all time: Alexander McQueen’s one-shoulder white gown and the black gloves she wore at the Bafta 2023.
Royal style loans are unprecedented; Ivanka has been attentive to Kate’s choices for several years and has selected her best and, above all, most luxurious looks.
Keep in mind that the Princess of Wales is obliged to wear high street brands and support local British designers, while Ivanka can choose any designer in the world and have all her outfits custom-made if she so chooses. That makes it even more obvious where he gets his inspiration from.
In 2023, Ivanka wore a blue version of British designer Jenny Packham’s sparkling Lotus Lady dress, the same one Kate owns in gold and first wore two years earlier.
In November 2024, on the night of the US election, Ivanka waited for the results to come in wearing an electric blue velvet pantsuit that could have been vintage Gucci, but was the spitting image of one Kate owns that was designed by British designer Alexander McQueen.
Both women have worn that memorable Alessandra Rich navy and white polka dot dress with white collar and cuffs.
Alessandra Rich launched in this country before moving to Milan and has since become associated with the new, simpler, looser elegance of modern royalty that Catherine has been quietly and steadily forging over the past few years.

The Princess of Wales at the world premiere of James Bond No Time To Die at the Royal Albert Hall on September 28, 2021

anka Kushner with Josh Kushner and their son at President Trump’s inauguration
We still think of Kate as a young woman in tight jeans, sneakers and a Breton t-shirt, ready to run on a hockey field, but today she is also a global fashion icon who has found her groove and has a strong, easily recognizable personality. . style.
Hair is a big part of this – long and lightly styled in clips or up in a French fold – and is a key piece of her brand – relatable, feminine and elegant.
She sometimes wears the higher Manolo BB pumps, but not all the time. She likes heavy eye makeup but not false eyelashes. Simplicity with high impact is his forte and he is increasingly sticking to one color from head to toe or monochromatic.
That black and white Jenny Packham dress with the stiff bow tie she wore to Trooping the Color last summer (her stunning return to fashion’s front line following her cancer diagnosis) plus Philip Treacy hat are quintessential from Kate.
Ivanka could do worse than search Jenny Packham’s website for 4th of July celebrations and perhaps call Philip Treacy. In fact, it probably will.