On the 25th (local time), an eBay listing popped up claiming to sell the wedding dress Melania Trump wore when she married Donald Trump in 2005. The couple were married at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 22, 2005. She reportedly wore a Christian Dior gown valued at about 140 million KRW (approximately USD 105,000). The seller — who says she owns the gown — posted the listing, and 253 people added the item to their watchlists within 24 hours.
The seller, who uses the handle Svjabc1 and says she lives in Massapequa, New York, is asking USD 45,000 (approximately 60 million KRW). The listing includes wedding photos, close-ups of the gown, and an image of Melania on the February 2005 cover of Vogue. The description touts “a fitted silhouette with roughly 90 meters of voluminous skirt,” embroidered with 1,500 Swarovski crystals, and notes the gown reportedly weighs 60 pounds and took 550 hours to make. (90 meters ≈ 295 ft.)
The seller says she bought the dress from Melania in 2010 for USD 70,000 (approximately 93.3 million KRW) to wear at her own 2011 wedding. She also says she made a few alterations — adding embroidery and satin and increasing the size — and that the panels added to enlarge the dress can be removed to restore it to its original dimensions.
Still, no independent source has verified that the eBay gown is the actual dress Melania wore. Hervé Pierre, Melania’s longtime stylist who styled her for Trump’s 2017 and 2025 inaugurations, told The New York Times that he personally stored the wedding dress in Palm Beach, Florida, two years ago. That suggests Melania might not currently own the gown. The seller’s claim that she bought the dress in 2010 also leaves open the possibility that the listing is for a replica.
The New York Times pointed out that couture pieces usually carry labels and serial numbers, and that an in-person inspection would be needed to confirm authenticity. Pierre said the gown he stored in Palm Beach had a label on the side and a ribbon with a number attached. The photos on eBay show no visible label; the seller says a seamstress removed the label during alterations and never reattached it.
The dress’s provenance remains unclear. High-profile weddings often spawn countless copies, so the possibility that this is a fake can’t be ruled out. The New York Times wrote that many people’s willingness to believe the listing reflects complicated feelings about the Trumps, their relationship, and the way they’ve monetized so much of their lives.
