President Trump may have stymied some expectations with his we-are-all-one-nation speech after the military fashion show — sorry, display — in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the Fourth of July, but it was Melania Trump in a slouching-off-one-shoulder mid-calf Carolina Herrera dress, standing silent and smiling by his side in every picture, who really put a twist on the messaging.

After all, if there were ever a moment to go all-out in some form of patriotic dress, to use clothing to make a point, it was this one: a moment conceived by the president and promoted by the White House as a celebration/demonstration of American military might and historical triumphalism; a moment titled Salute to America; a purely symbolic moment designed to create images to go around the world. Mr. Trump himself dressed the part, in his white shirt, navy suit and bright red tie, a little flag pin on his lapel, as color coordinated with Old Glory as it was possible to be amid the tanks.

Yet there was the first lady, in white with … rainbow stripes on her skirt. And fuchsia heels. Rainbow stripes?