The New York Times saw political significance in Usha Vance's coral dress that cost her only $9

Days after the episode aired, The New York Times published a piece titled The Politics and Power of the Pregnancy Image. In it, chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman examined the growing visibility of pregnant women in President Donald Trump’s orbit, including Vance, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Katie Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.

Friedman argues that bump-hugging maternity dresses and social media posts celebrating motherhood as “peak feminism” are helping shape a new visual language around family, fertility and conservative womanhood.

“Together, the women have created a notably consistent, and somewhat paradigm-shifting, picture of the White House’s family and fertility platform,” Friedman wrote.

The backlash and the bargain

Vance didn’t let the criticism go unanswered.

In a post on X, Usha shared a screenshot of the discounted Old Navy dress alongside a clip from the episode, poking fun at The New York Times’ analysis while revealing just how little she paid.

“Now that we know the political significance of my $8.75 coral maternity dress from Old Navy, can’t wait to hear what the New York Times has to say about my elastic-waistband pants and compression socks!” she wrote.

Many commenters applauded the Second Lady for choosing an affordable maternity outfit.

“Beautiful and frugal and relatable,” one wrote.

“You should be in charge of government spending,” another said.

Vance later shared a photo of her receipt, showing the dress had originally retailed for $49.99 before being marked down to $12.49. After applying an additional coupon, she paid just $8.75.

The viral attention has seemingly helped drive demand. The dress has since sold out on Old Navy’s website in every color and size.

A very public pregnancy

In an email to Moneywise, New York Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander wrote:

“We’re glad the Second Lady had a chance to read The Times’s reporting on fashion and pregnancy, which presented a fair and illuminating analysis of women in the Trump administration and their ownership of motherhood and image.”