US FIRST Lady Melania Trump cosied up to baby elephants and went on safari in Kenya on Friday, on the third leg of a solo tour of Africa that has contrasted with the ongoing tumult in Washington — but it was her outfit that raised eyebrows.

Looking relaxed and happy, the former model gave a baby elephant bottled formula at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, famed for its work rescuing the orphans from the wild.

However, her choice of outfit, a white colonial-style pith helmet while on safari drew some criticism on Twitter, with one person comparing her look to that of a “colonial administrator”.

Predominantly worn by armed forces in British colonies in the 19th Century, safari hats remain a symbol of colonial rule and oppression.

Melania’s outfit was reminiscent of the costume worn by Meryl Streep in the 1985 movie Out of Africa, where the Oscar winner plays Baroness Karen von Blixen, a Danish author who lived in Kenya.

Critics have taken to Twitter to question the First Lady’s choice of outfit, some even comparing it to a Halloween costume.

“Nice hat! Halloween store?” one Twitter user observed.

Trump is no stranger to sartorial controversy, coming under fire earlier in the year when she donned sky-high stilettos to visit flood-ravaged Texas after hurricane Harvery, and later, after visiting migrant children at the Texas-Mexico border, after wearing a jacket with the phrase, “I really don’t care, do u?” scrawled on the back.