Leaving politics out of it, as there’s been quite enough arguing about that in the past week or so, in true First Lady style, the US First ladies – current, next in line and past have been making their very own fashion statements since the election.

Hillary Clinton wore a Ralph Lauren pant suit with purple lapels to make her concession speech on Wednesday morning. As well as her trademark business-like style, it could have been said that by mixing red and blue in a single shade she was cleverly showing that America, if not the world, needed to unite behind the new administration.

Michelle Obama also gave off a bit of a subliminal fashion signal – she also went for a deep purple outfit. She was photographed in First Lady Style in a gorgeous Narciso Rodriguez dress with a contrasting orange stripe during her White House meeting with Melania Trump.

Here they both are in the official photo:  Michelle and Melania

Michelle, pictured above at a Joining Forces event on 14 November, wore Narciso Rodriguez twice in the same week, as she also wore a navy coat he’d designed for the last speech she gave for Hillary in Philadelphia. Perhaps she just likes his work? Or perhaps it’s a subtle reference to the fact that the Cuban-American designer is the son of immigrants and a classic American success story.  He also designed the black and red dress that Michelle Obama wore for the Barack Obama victory speech in 2008. Coincidences? Perhaps.

While the ex-and-soon-to-be-ex  First Ladies were making political statements along with their fashion statements, Melania Trump hadn’t got the memo. When she met Michelle Obama in Washington she opted for a black shift dress that made a few commentators comment about funerals. An unusual choice of dress for Melania, as she’s well known for wearing soft pastels – perhaps she’s trying to make her very own statement about herself now she’s going to be America’s FLOTUS? We’ll see her First Lady style emerge over the next four years…

As Melania Trump doesn’t yet have a stylist, there have been no statements about who designed her black sheath dress, but that’s likely to change as she settles in to her ‘reign’. She has a hard act to follow – Michelle Obama has been praised for her fashion sense and classy style for the last eight years, whereas Melania Trump is more risqué, favouring cut outs, thigh high slashes and sheer fabric panels. Melania Trump’s Fashion Style

Melania Trump is very unlikely to be using her outfit choices as a backup communication tool yet, while of course Hillary and Michelle have had years of practice. It will be interesting to see whether the new FLOTUS adapts her personal style and tones it down for the White House…or whether she just brings her own look to the First Ladyship.

Who do you think has the best First Lady Style? Hillary, Michelle or Melania?