The first lady Rachel Ruto has a bold sense of fashion. If you take a  look at her social media platforms, you will notice that she often dons African attires, popularly known as vitenge and Ankara designs.

Some of her outfits have been welcomed but others have highly been criticized with netizens suggesting that her stylist should be send packing.

Here are  several occasions that the first lady’s outfits have received negative reviews.

Statehouse banquet in honour of the King and Queen of Netherlands

On March 18, 2025 evening, President William Ruto and Rachel held a  statehouse banquet for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands who are in the country for a four-day official visit.

At the event, Rachel was dressed in a long black dress accompanied with a white necklace. Although she appeared stunning in the outfit, Kenyans on social media felt that her dressing didn’t match the occasion. According to some, she appeared to be heading to a sombre/sad event and not hosting a king and a queen which could have been characterised with pomp and colour.

The welcoming ceremony of the Netherlands envoy

On the same day,  the outfit that she wore while receiving the guests also raised eyebrows with many likening it to the viral chapati trend. At the welcoming ceremony, she wore an Ankara attire and completed the look with Bally Obrien classic heels, which apparently go about for Sh80,000. On the other hand, the queen wore a flowery bright dress with the difference between the two women’s attire being distinct.

“State House should fire the First Lady’s stylist. This is someone who is clearly on a mission to sabotage Mama Rachael or just someone with absolutely no idea of what they’re doing. Or maybe she doesn’t even have a stylist and just throws these things on herself. This is a national crisis!” an X user identified as Karen Waithera said.

Others noted that she was repeating the outfit as she wore it during a wedding in May 31, 2024.

Rachel’s meeting with Ethiopia’s first lady

In late January, the first lady met Ethiopia’s first lady Entissar Amer on the sidelines of President Ruto’s state visit to Ethiopia and her African print outfit was yet again a heated subject of discussion.

“First of all fire your stylist coz these vitenges are awful,” one said as another likened the outfit to a sack.

Not all times has Rachel’s outfit been a miss according to the majority opinion. There are times that she has left Kenyans  impressed with her fashion choices.

First of all, it was during the swearing on of her husband in 2022. She wore an ivory ankara dress that had a beautiful flower pattern.

In December 18, 2023, Rachel presided over the opening of Milai school in Eldoret and her dressing was on point. She wore a violet outfit with matching shoes.

Additionally, just months to the 2022 elections, Rachel shared photos of herself in an expensive suit that left Kenyans talking. Apparently, the suit that allegedly costs sh500,000 was imported.