Jill Biden’s colorful flower shift was the perfect choice for a ladies who lunch date. However, the $2,700 Dolce & Gabbana dress was a wholly inappropriate outfit choice to witness her husband sign in H.R. 49 in June 2021, designating the National Pulse Memorial in Orlando for all the victims of the 2016 mass shooting.
Jill and Joe Biden were joined by members of his administration, survivors of the shooting, and victims’ family members in Washington, D.C. 49 people were killed and 53 wounded in what was one of the USA’s most deadly mass shootings, so not surprisingly, it was a somber affair, making Jill’s bright and breezy floral number somewhat jarring. Especially when compared to the other guests’ mute, more formal attire.
Jill’s choice of Dolce & Gabbana was controversial for other reasons, too. The label’s founders, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, have a racially problematic history, including dressing models in “Blackamoor” earrings, posing for blackface photos at an “African disco” themed Halloween party, designing a “slave sandal” and running a campaign starring an Asian model attempting to eat pizza with chopsticks. When a fashionista questioned the ads, Gabbana allegedly DMd them, “China Ignorant Dirty Smelling Mafia.”
