US Second Lady Usha Vance has offered a tongue-in-cheek response to a New York Times article that linked her low-cost maternity dress to politics.
She referred to an Rs 800 (about $8.75) coral maternity dress from Old Navy and joked that if that outfit had “political significance,” then the media should also analyse her other simple clothing choices like elastic-waist pants and compression socks.
Taking to social media platform X, she wrote, “Now that we know the political significance of my $8.75 (Rs 800) coral maternity dress from Old Navy, can’t wait to hear what the New York Times has to say about my elastic-waistband pants and compression socks!”
Now that we know the political significance of my $8.75 coral maternity dress from Old Navy, can’t wait to hear what the New York Times has to say about my elastic-waistband pants and compression socks! In the meantime, enjoy my pregnancy fashion (or lack thereof) and a good…
— Second Lady Usha Vance (@SLOTUS) June 24, 2026
“In the meantime, enjoy my pregnancy fashion (or lack thereof) and a good story with your kids on Storytime with the Second Lady,” she added.
Usha also shared the screenshot of the receipt for her maternity dress online. The receipt shows that the Old Navy coral maternity dress was originally priced at $12.49, but after discounts and promotions, the final price came down to $8.75.
And here’s the receipt! pic.twitter.com/tgICmpbapQ
— Second Lady Usha Vance (@SLOTUS) June 24, 2026
Usha, who is pregnant with her fourth child, was featured in a New York Times fashion article titled “The Politics and Power of the Pregnancy Image.” The newspaper had written about how pregnancy and fashion choices of women in President Donald Trump’s political circle, including Usha Vance, are being closely watched.
The article’s author, fashion critic Vanessa Friedman, wrote, “She is wearing a stretchy coral dress that hugs her stomach, making what she is talking about very clear.”
It also mentioned other public figures like White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Katie Miller, noting that all of them recently gave birth or are currently expecting.
“That three such prominent women in the MAGA movement were pregnant at pretty much the same time was, indubitably, a coincidence,” Friedman wrote.
“But for an administration that has such an intuitive and strategic understanding of the power of aesthetics that an unspoken dress code in which men outfit themselves in the image of the president has developed, it has also become a telling one,” she added.
