First Lady Melania Trump has continued a century-long tradition by donating her inaugural gown to the Smithsonian.
The white silk crepe, off-the-shoulder design by Herve Pierre joins a collection of inaugural gowns going back to Helen Taft.
“It can be a daunting task to choose an outfit that will be mesmerized and become part of our nation’s story and forever history,” Trump said in a donation ceremony on Friday.
Pierre, who worked closely with Trump in designing the gown, traveled to DC to assist in the displaying of the legacy piece.
“If someone had told me last year that one of my dresses would have been in the Smithsonian Museum, I would have said, ‘Did you have too many vodka tonics at lunch?’” the designer said in a recent interview.
While Taft began the tradition of donating inaugural gowns to the Smithsonian — with the gift of her 1909 gown of rhinestone- and bead-embellished white silk chiffon — the oldest dress in the museum’s collection is a silk pink gown worn by Martha Washington during the 1780s.