Melania Trump’s 2025 Inaugural Dress Joins Smithsonian Permanence for Second Time
The Office of the First Lady announced that Melania Trump’s 2025 inaugural ball gown will be presented to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History on Friday, marking the second time one of her dresses has entered the institution’s permanent collection.
Trump is expected to deliver remarks following the formal handover of the gown.
The dress will be added to the museum’s First Ladies Collection, part of a more than century-old tradition of preserving and exhibiting inaugural attire worn by presidential spouses. Housed within the museum’s First Ladies Gallery, this collection includes more than 1,000 objects ranging from inaugural gowns and formal dresses to personal items and White House memorabilia.
With her 2025 gown joining the permanent collection, Trump becomes part of a small group of first ladies whose inaugural attire from multiple inaugurations has been accepted into the Smithsonian’s holdings. This rare distinction reflects both historical continuity and public interest in presidential inaugurations.
The Smithsonian began collecting inaugural gowns in the early 20th century, and the exhibit has become one of the museum’s most visited displays, offering a visual record of changing fashion, culture, and political history through the decades.
