Usha Vance’s $8.75 Dress Sparks Online Debate And Husband’s Praise

Photo: Screengrab YouTube

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC- Vice President JD Vance has joked about his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance’s, budgeting skills after the price of a maternity dress she wore became a topic of public interest.

On June 25, JD Vance took to X to comment on his wife’s post, which included a receipt for a discounted Old Navy maternity dress. “She bought a $50 dress for $8.75. America: meet your next director of the federal budget!” he remarked.

The interest in the dress originated from a New York Times feature by chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman, which examined how the pregnancies of prominent women in President Donald Trump’s administration have become part of the administration’s public image.

Friedman noted that the pregnancies of Usha Vance, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and Katie Miller, wife of Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, have “created a notably consistent, and somewhat paradigm-shifting, picture of the White House’s family and fertility platform.” She further observed that as second lady, Usha Vance’s duties involve representing and humanizing the vice president, and that by spotlighting her own pregnancy, “she is doing exactly that.”

On June 24, Usha Vance responded to the article’s focus on her wardrobe on X: “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!”

She continued: “In the meantime, enjoy my pregnancy fashion (or lack thereof) and a good story with your kids on ‘Storytime with the Second Lady’.”

Following this, she posted the purchase receipt, which revealed the dress was reduced from $44.99 to $12.49, with a further coupon bringing the final cost to $8.75. The garment has since become unavailable on the Old Navy website.

Usha Vance wore the coral dress in a Father’s Day edition of ‘Storytime with the Second Lady’ on June 21, in which JD Vance read stories from ‘Winnie the Pooh’.