First lady Melania Trump, who hasn't been seen in public for an official engagement since just after Christmas, returned to the spotlight Tuesday night for the State of the Union speech – and for a second year in a row she took a separate car to the Capitol. The first lady left the White House early and ahead of President Donald Trump after hosting a reception in the Diplomatic Room for their special guests invited to sit with her in the House gallery during the speech. Trump also traveled separately to the Capitol last year so she could spend more time with the guests. And, as she did last year, she also hosted another meet-and-greet with them at the Capitol. "Mrs. Trump knows this is an important night, and wants to ensure the experience of her guests is special, and that they feel comfortable," spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham told CNN. Trump wore an inky military-style dress, a stark contrast to the many female Democratic lawmakers who wore white in honor of women's suffrage. The Trumps invited a dozen special guests, including Alice Johnson, the prison inmate who was granted clemency by President Donald Trump at the urging of Kim Kardashian. Also invited, in keeping with her low-key anti-bullying campaign: Joshua Trump, a sixth grader from Wilmington, Delaware, who is no relation to the Trump family but has been bullied in school because of his last name, according to the White House. More:A boy named Trump is honored for courage in face of bullying Other guests, as per usual, were invited to illustrate some aspect of the administration's policies, including relatives of a couple murdered in their Reno, Nevada, home, allegedly by an illegal immigrant. The guests included a child who survived a brain tumor and now campaigns against cancer; a former drug addict who campaigns against substance abuse; a Homeland Security investigator who fights human trafficking; and a police officer and synagogue member who survived a mass shooting in Pittsburgh in October. Last year, Washington eyebrows lifted because first ladies usually accompany their husbands to the speech. Plus, the episode followed news that the president had paid hush money to keep adult film star Stormy Daniels from talking publicly during the 2016 campaign about her one-night stand with him years ago. But Trump has been an atypical first lady from the start; it may be she's starting her own custom of being extra-attentive to the administration's SOTU guests. The first lady has been mostly out of sight since late December, and popping up in the news only after the British conservative paper The Telegraph apologized and agreed to pay her “substantial damages” after retracting a story she claimed contained false statements about her family and her modeling career. It was the third time that the first lady has successfully sued publications or online blogs over content she considered defamatory. "FLOTUS often refers to opportunists out to advance themselves by disparaging her name&image. Mrs.Trump will not let people&media outlets make up lies&false assertions in a race for ratings or to sell tabloid headlines," Grisham tweeted about the Telegraph, which is not a tabloid but a prestige broadsheet aligned with the conservative British Tories. It was also the second time the first lady disappeared for weeks from the glare of media cameras: Last year, she was out of sight from May 19 to June 3, after she spent five days in the hospital for a kidney embolization. The last time FLOTUS was seen on the job was Dec. 27, when she and President Trump returned late at night from their surprise trip to visit troops at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq. After that, she and son Barron, 12, went to Mar-a-Lago, the Trump resort in Palm Beach, Florida, for the New Year holiday while the president remained in Washington during the government shutdown, which had begun Dec. 22. She was next seen on Twitter at the annual New Year's Eve party at Mar-a-Lago, dressed in a slinky, sparkly black Stella McCartney gown. But she didn't pose for any official photos; the picture was posted on social media by guests at the $1,000-per-person party. Instead, Trump posted a rare selfie, a close-up picture of herself with Happy New Year greetings, on her Twitter account. Trump had no official appearances scheduled during the shutdown; Grisham, who was one of only a handful of her tiny staff who were working during the shutdown, said she spent most of the winter holiday in Florida with her son, returning occasionally to the White House to be with the president. She returned to Mar-a-Lago on Jan. 17, reported the Miami Herald, flying to Florida in an Air Force plane even after the president grounded military aircraft that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a Congressional delegation were to use to visit troops in Afghanistan. The first lady was next seen on Feb. 1, after the shutdown was temporarily resolved, when she and her husband and son flew back to sunny Palm Beach from frigid Washington to spend Super Bowl Weekend there. She wore a caramel Roksandra coat and carried a red Hermes bag as she boarded Air Force One. She and the president were seen briefly on Sunday when they watched the Florida Atlantic University Marching Band and cheerleaders play and perform at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, before the annual Super Bowl party at the resort. She was wearing a red-and-white striped blouse and cropped black pants and high heels. When they returned to the White House Sunday night, she was wearing a navy blue outfit of coat and cropped pants.<doc-sep>President Donald Trump is making his first address in 2019 to a divided Congress. On Tuesday evening, viewers anxiously watched the State of the Union address as they listened to the president discuss the government’s immigration system, the price of healthcare, prescription drugs and more. During the broadcast, people also noticed the fashion statements that were made, including Melania Trump's bold outfit choice. Notably, the First Lady's all-black ensemble, which is a Burberry design, caught the attention of viewers. She opted for a sleek, blazer-like dress that featured sizable silver buttons. She completed her look with matching black heels. E! News can confirm that her Burberry coat is priced for $2,390. As for Ivanka Trump, she stood by her husband Jared Kushner. She kept things simple, yet striking with a black Alexander McQueen military jacket and skirt. She paired her suit with an Alexander McQueen belt. E! News has learned that all three items cost a total of $3,613 (due to a sale).<doc-sep>A First Lady's wardrobe is often the subject of public scrutiny. That's certainly been true of Melania Trump's fashion choices: Despite her insistence that the media and the President's detractors assign meaning to her outfits where there is none, many of her looks have been criticized for their exorbitant price point and apparent mixed messaging. And with a white-out planned by Democratic lawmakers for the 2019 State of the Union, some wondered what the First Lady would wear to the event. Trump and stylist Hervé Pierre landed on a black trench dress by Burberry for the President's address to the nation. And in an interview with WWD, Pierre was quick to clarify that the public shouldn't read into the choice of designer—or anything else she wears while residing in the White House. WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 05: First lady Melania Trump and Tiffany Trump attend the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives on February 5, 2019 in Washington, DC. President Trump's second State of the Union address was postponed one week due to the partial government shutdown. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Alex Wong “As long as I find the right outfit, the designer is almost irrelevant," the stylist told WWD. "The designer, well, is Burberry, but it could have been anybody else. It has nothing to do with England or Brexit. If I would have to think of all these things when I look at dresses and outfits, I would lose my mind. “Afterward, social media will go on about Brexit or whatever," Pierre continued. "They have to do their own version of this. On my side, believe me, I don’t think of it. Because I don’t have time to do that.” WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 05: First lady Melania Trump and Ashley Evans, special guest of the President, attend the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives on February 5, 2019 in Washington, DC. President Trump's second State of the Union address was postponed one week due to the partial government shutdown. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Alex Wong In the case of Trump's State of the Union look, Pierre explained that the Burberry trench dress was a practical choice: “It’s very sharp and straight to the point. There is no room for fluff or something cute. I think she is a daring woman, but it has to be right. It is not a costume.” The stylist bought the dress for the First Lady in New York City, according to WWD. The Melton Wool Tailored Coat, from Riccardo Tisci's debut collection from the brand, retails for $2,390. Last year Trump wore a white Christian Dior pantsuit and Dolce & Gabbana blouse to the State of the Union. Some interpreted it as a reference to Hillary Clinton's white inauguration pantsuit and the suffragette movement. Onlookers also noted that Dior is currently led by Maria Grazia Chiuri, a designer who has identified herself and her work as feminist. WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: First lady Melania Trump arrives for the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives January 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. This is the first State of the Union address given by U.S. President Donald Trump and his second joint-session address to Congress. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Mark Wilson According to Pierre, though, these interpretations simply aren't something he thinks about when he's dressing the First Lady. Her outfits may ignite conversation, but they're apparently not intended to communicate any larger message.<doc-sep>
(CNN) — For the second year in a row, first lady Melania Trump departed the White House solo, 40 minutes ahead of her husband for his State of the Union address. “Mrs. Trump knows this is an important night, and wants to ensure the experience of her guests is special, and that they feel comfortable,” the first lady’s deputy chief of staff for communications Stephanie Grisham told CNN. Those guests are 13 invited citizens who represent a broad range of President Donald Trump’s administration policy interests as well as causes championed by the first lady. Trump has made a show of hosting the State of the Union guests a grander to-do than previous first ladies, spending more one-on-one time with them, without the President, than her recent predecessors. Guests Typically, the invited State of the Union guests attend a relatively brief Oval Office meet-and-greet with the President for a quick photo op and chat, prior to departing the White House for the Capitol. But beginning last year, a second reception was added, this one hosted solely by Melania Trump in the Diplomatic Room, just inside the doors of the lower level White House South Lawn entrance. There, Trump took separate photographs with the guests, as she will again on Tuesday night. This year’s guests also took a tour of the White House State Floor, which includes the East Room, the Cross Hall, the Red Room, the Blue Room, the Green Room and the State Dining Room, Grisham told CNN. When the guests arrived to the Capitol building, they attended yet another Melania Trump meet-and-greet, this one in an anteroom near the Gallery, where they are also scheduled to be joined by second lady Karen Pence. After the tours and the conversations and the photographs, they were led to their seats inside the first lady’s box, where they were acknowledged individually at some point during the President’s remarks. Breaking tradition Last year, the first lady disrupted the longstanding tradition of the first couple exiting the White House together, and both getting into “The Beast,” the armored limousine of the President, for the brief drive to the Capitol. Instead, the first lady made a previously publicly unannounced decision to take an entirely separate motorcade to the State of the Union. At the time, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told CNN the separate first lady motorcade was used for “no reason other than she can greet the guests and he can go straight in.” Grisham, meanwhile, told CNN Trump’s independent decision was done as part of “honoring the guests for the true heroes they are.” The 2018 State of the Union address took place on January 30, just weeks after the Stormy Daniels scandal made headlines, putting the first couple’s marriage under a very public, and very speculative, microscope. When the first lady emerged in the gallery for the address last year, wearing a white pantsuit, it was the first time the public had seen her in a month. Tuesday night’s State of the Union appearance was also the enigmatic first lady’s first public event in quite some time – save for photographs of her with the President this weekend traveling to and from Mar-a-Lago. Prior to last Friday afternoon, the last public photographs of Trump were taken December 27, when she returned from a surprise Christmas visit to Iraq, almost six weeks ago.