“Conservative Girl” fashion has recently gained attention for all the wrong reasons: over-application of makeup, mismatched foundation, and an indifference toward natural brow density. But is conservative fashion just as uninspired? And does it look the same around the world, or is it uniquely American?
In the United States, there are many examples of this style, such as Melania Trump’s 2025 White House portrait, which exudes all the charisma of a stock image, or the suburban Realtor-on-a-billboard style of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Right-wing style is typically characterized by perfectionism, heavily aestheticized elements, over-symmetry, over-harmony, and a deliberate avoidance of edge. At its highest levels, this results in bland, frisson-free dressing.
Kathleen M. Brown, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania, believes right-wing style approximates “corporate-feminine.”
“Women in corporate America have long been told to straighten their hair, hide the gray, remove any traces of facial hair, and straighten and whiten teeth,” she told HuffPost. “They have also been subject to fat-shaming. When I superficially turn my attention to what right-wing women are wearing today, I don’t see anything that new: just a variation on the corporatization of individual identity, expression, and intellect. The clothes are not the cause of these transformations, but they are the costumes and the props that support and reveal it.”
Style evolves osmotically, and aesthetics are shaped by cultural cross-pollination, so it makes sense that MAGA fashion has become a humorless monoculture. Conservative ideology opposes pluralism and views foreign influences as contaminants that threaten a noble, racially pure identity. Among mid-ranking ideologues and the right-wing press, the party line seeps into wardrobes, creating telltale signs such as unmoving coifs, aggressive blondness, overly glossy blowouts, tedious sheath dresses, and makeup stripped of sophistication.
For presidential events, the senior Trump women have consistently avoided the inclusive and humanizing touches that characterized the wardrobes of many former White House occupants. These touches, which often reflect the service-oriented nature of the office and the country’s melting-pot ethos, are notably absent. Their coordinated black and white palette at the Inaugural Ball sent a clear message: a return to neatly binary ways of thinking.
In stark contrast to their leaders, female conservative constituents embrace elements that signal urgency and community: MAGA hats, Confederate flags, and affiliative tattoos.
Minoo Moallem, a professor of gender and women’s studies at the University of California, Berkeley, offered insight into the phenomenon. “The national political elite exemplifies a form of white gender normativity, dressing in ways that emphasize conformity, respectability, and a notion of tradition that appears frozen in time and space. Following their lead, the popular classes often adopt items like cowboy hats or baseball caps traditionally associated with whiteness,” she said. “While both men and women use these commodities to assert a sense of unity, they also reinforce gender binaries by reverting to conventional gender norms. This reflects a longing for the ‘good old days’ and a ‘reskilling’ of traditional gender roles, which promise a future aligned with the return of a past where women were expected to remain in ‘their place’ despite their involvement in the public and political spheres.”
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