First Lady Dr. Jill Biden‘s latest designer handbag came with an extra special tribute to her two dogs, Champ and Major.
The First Lady stepped off Air Force One on Thursday to visit a vaccination center in Charleston, West Virginia bringing along a brown, custom Valentino Rockstud tote featuring a big “J” with hand-painted portraits of the two German Shepherds peeking out from behind it. For the trip, she paired the statement bag with a baby pink blazer, white fit-and-flare dress, and a long strand of pearls. She also brought the bag with her on a trip to Colorado Springs earlier this month. But this type of luxe customization isn’t strictly relegated to heads of state. Anyone who orders the $2,200 Valentino Rockstud Pet bag can upload a handful of photos of their furry friend to get a unique handmade print of them done by illustrator Riccardo Cusimano.
The Bidens’ dogs have had some difficulty adapting to life in The White House, with Major having two biting incidents within his first month as First Dog. But in March, after a brief trip back to the Biden family home in Delaware, Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed to reporters that the dogs had officially made their return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And in an interview with the Today show in April, the First Lady assured reporter Craig Melvin that Major had undergone additional training to adjust to this new environment and “is such a sweet, lovable dog.”
This also isn’t the first time Valentino has made headlines for creating a custom piece for a First Lady. After closing out the second night of the August 2020 Republican National Convention dressed in a very police state-friendly ensemble, Melania Trump joined her husband for his acceptance speech in the couture equivalent of the Phillie Phanatic costume–a Valentino spring 2020 pleated-crepe dress the exact color of a green screen. The internet immediately got to work transforming Melania into a meme, projecting various images onto the gown like the coronavirus death toll, Joe Biden, Trump hanging out with his “wingman,” sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, and photos of adult film actor Stormy Daniels.
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