If Melania Trump had former first ladies on her mood board while shopping for the inauguration, then it was dominated by Jackie Kennedy’s ceremonial formalities on the West Lawn and Nancy Reagan’s evening celebrations.

The skirt suit and matching gloves in retro powder blue the new first lady wore for the swearing in was followed by a vanilla, off-the-shoulder evening gown. The dress, a collaboration between Mrs Trump and the designer Hervé Pierre, featured a full-length ruffle in six layers of crepe, a narrow red ribbon bow belt and a deep side slit. Bold and dynamic rather than romantic or ladylike, it was closer to the vigorous, red-blooded style that Nancy Reagan brought to the White House in the 1980s than to Jackie Kennedy’s demure elegance or to Michelle Obama’s take on modern romance.

Ivanka Trump, the first daughter, also appeared to have taken a leaf out of Nancy Reagan’s book. The full skirt of her sequinned Carolina Herrera gown was reminiscent of the early 1980s White House, while the deep V-neck nodded to the red lace gown Mrs Reagan wore in 1988 for her husband’s endorsement dinner of George HW Bush.

Donald and Melania Trump during the inauguration parade on Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC. Photograph: EvanVucci/Pool/ddpUSA/BarcroftIm

There was a striking contrast between the soft silhouette of Ivanka’s champagne-coloured gown and the staccato details of Melania’s dress. The new first lady’s decision to take authorship of her own gown, creating a dress in partnership with a designer whose name is less well known than hers, seems to speak of confidence and self-belief. The White House bio of the new first lady mentions her design prowess, including her short-lived jewellery label, in its list of her accomplishments. The president is perhaps not the only one in the White House humming My Way.

But while Hervé Pierre has little public profile, he has huge experience. He worked at Carolina Herrera, a house that has dressed a succession of first ladies, for 14 years. He rose to creative Director before leaving last year. Pierre told Womenswear Daily that the design process was “organic … [Mrs Trump] has a very strong personal style and doesn’t plan to change it because of her new function. So it was fun to respect her very tailored sense of fashion … she knows what she likes.”

According to a report on vogue.com, the French-born Pierre, who headed the house of Balmain before working at Carolina Herrera, is poised to become a sartorial adviser to the first lady, and helped her to style the blue Ralph Lauren suit worn earlier in the day.