Melania Trump steals the show with $5,300 dress

Melania Trump pulled out all the stops when it came to meeting China’s president and his wife, by wearing a stunning US$4,000 ($5,300) dress.

The First Lady, a former model, looked gorgeous in the sleeveless Valentino number that had daisies appliqued into the crepe fabric, when she greeted Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan for a formal dinner at the Trumps’ resort in Floria. 

Matches, the high-fashion retailer, advises pairing the dress with “barely there heels” to make it a glamorous evening look – a piece of style advice that Mrs Trump ignored, instead choosing floral-print stilettoes.

“It’s shaped with a square neck, and finished with cleverly placed seams to enhance the slender midi-length silhouette,” Matches says. 

The vibrant colour was a not-so-subtle homage to her Chinese guests – red symbolises good fortune and celebration in China and is often worn at happy events such as weddings and New Year celebrations. 

Peng, considered a style icon in her home country, wore a more understated dark blue, embroidered cheongsam that finished just over her knees. The 54-year-old was a celebrated folk signer before becoming Xi’s second wife. 

Although all eyes were on the first ladies’ style at the dinner, this is a high-stakes meeting for both presidents – Trump made criticism of China’s trade policies a mainstay of his presidential campaign, while Xi will need to show his audience at home that he was resolute in standing up for China’s interests. 

With the relationship in its early stages, however, the US president seemed disinclined to exercise his deal-making expertise too aggressively.

“It is a great honour to have the president of china and his incredibly talented wife, a great, great celebrity in China, a great singer,” Trump said of the dinner. “We had a long discussion already. So far, I have gotten nothing. Absolutely nothing. But we have developed a friendship. I can see that. I think, long-term, we are going to have a very, very great relationship and I look very much forward to it.”

.@FLOTUS & I are honored to welcome the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, & Madame Peng Liyuan to the United States. pic.twitter.com/n6ZX4AySNH

— President Trump 45 Archived (@POTUS45) April 7, 2017

What do you think of Melania Trump’s dress? Would you have worn a sleeveless dress for a state occasion?