So it’s not like they haven’t been thinking this through. Or that they aren’t aware of the symbolic value of dress, especially when it comes to a first lady who prefers to let her clothes do the talking.

If so, there is a contradiction implicit in her choices of clothing, given her husband’s promise in his Inaugural Address that “Buy American” would be a tenet of his administration. But the Made-in-America dress requirement for first ladies, historically held dear, was largely taken off the table during the Obama administration and transformed into a vehicle for cross-border outreach. It was Mr. Trump who made it an issue again, and in a forum arguably more public, and permanent, than Twitter.

When asked about the issue, Ms. Winston Wolkoff emailed the following statement:

“Mrs. Trump is a proud and longtime supporter of American fashion. She appreciates fashion as art. As a former model, she has always been a patron of the world’s most distinguished designers both here and abroad. Mrs. Trump buys from an international mix of brands because that is what reflects her uniquely American life experience and style. She is more excited than ever to make a platform for American designers as she did on one of the most important weeks in history, the Inauguration, showcasing the extraordinary talents of American designers.”

In other words: Buying European is a reflection of the American shopping experience.

For anyone who has walked down any main shopping street in a big American city — such as Fifth Avenue in New York, where Mrs. Trump lives — it’s hard to argue with that. Though it also seems like something of a contorted rationale, and one that could be exploited by companies seeking to relocate some factories overseas. That choice is, after all, also a part of the American industrial story.