白宮易主之際，第一夫人的顏色外交

So the reconciliation continues. Kind of.

和解的狀況在持續(xù)?？梢赃@么說。

Whatever their feelings about Donald J. Trump winning the presidential election, President Obama and the first lady have been careful to demonstrate that it is time “to now come together, work together, to deal with the many challenges that we face,” as Mr. Obama said when he met the president-elect at the White House on Thursday.

不管奧巴馬總統(tǒng)和第一夫人對唐納德·J·特朗普當選總統(tǒng)究竟是何感受，他們都在小心地對外顯示，是時候“團結一致，共同努力，解決我們面臨的許多挑戰(zhàn)”，就像奧巴馬在上周四首次與當選總統(tǒng)在白宮會面時所講的那樣。

Hillary Clinton began the messaging when she wore a purple-lapel Ralph Lauren pantsuit for her concession speech on Wednesday morning, uniting red and blue in a single shade as she urged the country to unite. And Michelle Obama continued the subliminal signals when she chose a purple Narciso Rodriguez dress with an orange aftershock sunburst curve for her meeting with Melania Trump.

希拉里·克林頓(Hillary Clinton)上周三上午就開始傳達這一信息，當時她穿著一套拉夫·勞倫(Ralph Lauren)紫色翻領褲裝發(fā)表自己的敗選演說，敦促美國團結一致，將紅藍陣營團結在一起。米歇爾·奧巴馬(Michelle Obama)繼續(xù)釋放這種潛意識的信號，選擇了一件帶橘色余波輻射曲線的紫色納西索·羅德里格斯(Narciso Rodriguez)裙子與梅拉尼婭·特朗普(Melania Trump)會面。

It was a nice bit of color diplomacy.

這可真有點色彩外交的意味。

But it also wasn’t without implicit references to Mr. Obama’s administration and legacy. After all, it was the second time she wore Mr. Rodriguez this week, the first time being for her final speech for Mrs. Clinton in Philadelphia, delivered in a navy coat by the designer.

但它不可能不涉及奧巴馬政府及其遺產。畢竟，這是她這一周第二次穿羅德里格斯的裙子，上一次是在費城為克林頓發(fā)表最后一次演講，當時她穿了一件羅德里格斯設計的深藍色外套。

Mr. Rodriguez is, as it happens, Cuban-American, the son of immigrants and a classic American success story. He is currently the subject of a retrospective at the Frost Art Museum in Miami, chosen in part, the curator told The New York Times, because “It is very important to incorporate the accomplishments of Latin American artists, architects and designers into the canon of history.”

羅德里格斯碰巧是古巴裔美國人、移民的后代，也是一個典型的美國成功故事。邁阿密的弗羅斯特藝術博物館(Frost Art Museum)目前正在展出以他為主題的設計回顧展。該展覽的策展人告訴《紐約時報》，之所以選擇他，部分原因在于，“將拉丁裔美國藝術家、建筑師和設計師的成就納入歷史正統(tǒng)，是很重要的。”

Mr. Rodriguez was also the designer of the black and red dress that Mrs. Obama wore when her husband gave his victory speech in Chicago in 2008.

羅德里格斯還設計過一件黑紅相間的裙子，奧巴馬夫人穿著它出席了丈夫于2008年在芝加哥發(fā)表獲選演說的活動。

Something of a contrast was, not surprisingly, provided by Mrs. Trump. For the visit to Washington on Thursday, she wore a streamlined sleeveless black sheath dress, a matching coat and Christian Louboutin heels. Thus far, as was the case throughout the campaign, no brand has issued the traditional news release about Mrs. Trump wearing its designs, most likely because she buys her clothes herself, rather than working through a stylist or brand. (The shoes were recognizable because of the brand’s signature red soles).

不足為奇的是，特朗普夫人與之形成了對比。在上周四首次訪問華盛頓時，她穿了一件流線剪裁的無袖黑色緊身裙和一件與之配套的大衣，腳穿一雙克里斯提·魯布托(Christian Louboutin)高跟鞋。就像整個競選活動期間那樣，迄今為止還沒有那個品牌發(fā)布有關特朗普夫人身著自己品牌服裝的常規(guī)新聞報道，她很有可能是自己買衣服，而不是由一位造型師或品牌來做這項工作(人們之所以能辨認出這雙鞋，是因為它們有該品牌標志性的紅色鞋底)。

Whether that will change when she is in the White House remains to be seen. In the meantime, the fact she wore black instead of her usual white or pastel shades has got some people riled up. (“Melania Trump wore a funereal black dress to the White House,” Yahoo News cried.)

至于她入住白宮之后，這種情況是否會發(fā)生改變，還有待觀察。與此同時，她身著黑色服裝而非她通常所穿的白色或柔和色調服裝的事實，卻惹到了一些人。(“梅拉尼婭·特朗普穿著葬禮上的黑色裙子去了白宮”，雅虎新聞[Yahoo News]的文章標題醒目地寫道。)

Personally, I think it’s too early to judge whether Mrs. Trump thinks about her clothes in communications terms, so I’m going to hold off on reading too much into the shade. Rather, I’d say she looked polished and professional, and as if she wasn’t trying to call attention to herself, though that is kind of unavoidable.

我個人認為，判斷特朗普夫人是否有意通過著裝傳達信息還為時過早，所以我暫時不會對它做過多解讀。相反，我會說她看起來優(yōu)雅而職業(yè)，就好像她沒有在試圖引起別人的注意，盡管這似乎難以避免。

Indeed, as Mrs. Obama showed over the past eight years — and reiterated on Thursday — a wardrobe can be a powerful platform for a first lady, making points without her having to say a word. Given Mrs. Trump’s reported antipathy for public performance, it might serve her very well as she assumes her new role.

在過去的八年里，奧巴馬夫人的確證明了，對第一夫人而言，衣櫥可以是一個強大的平臺，可以讓她不發(fā)一言而就表達出自己的觀點。她在上周四再次證明了這一點?？紤]到外界稱特朗普夫人對公開亮相非常厭惡，在正式就任新角色之后，這可能更適合她。