The First Lady Who Wore A $46,000 Dress And Other Secrets

The First Lady Who Wore A $46,000 Dress 

And Other Secrets

First Ladies: The job of a first lady isn't an easy one. A first lady is expected to support her husband which isn't always easy. The first lady also must look her best at all times because the media is always looking to scrutinize. With all this going on she must also find her own platform to help better the lives of American citizens. There are many things that you may not know about our former first ladies. Here's a first lady who wore a $46,000 dress and other secrets.

Helen Taft: Helen Herron Taft met her husband Howard Taft during a bobsledding trip when the two were 18 years old. After several years of courting the two were married in 1860. Helen preferred to be called Nellie because it was what people called her since she was a child. Before Howard became President of the United States Helen stood by him as he climbed the ladder from state judge to Solicitor General to federal judge all the way to the presidency. She was the first first lady to ride in her husband's inaugural parade. On the night of the ball helen wore a gorgeous white chiffon gown that was embroidered with gold. Just two months after howard's inauguration helen had a stroke she didn't want to slack on her first wife duties so her sisters helped her in her role as a hostess at the White House until she could do it on her own.

Edith Bolling Wilson: Edith Wilson didn't marry her husband Woodrow Wilson until he was already the president. Before she married Woodrow her sister took on the role of first lady. Since Edith wasn't around for the inauguration she didn't have the chance to wear a special gown. Before she met Woodrow her life was filled with tragedy. Her first husband died leaving her a widow. She also had a son who died a few days after birth. The complications made it impossible for her to have any more children. Woodrow Wilson was also a widow and there were rumors that the two started courting before Wilson's wife died. He tried to be supportive and told Edith that if it was too much they could break off the engagement. She told him she would stand by him not for duty or for honor but for love.

Florence King Harding: Florence married Warren Harding who owned a newspaper called the Marion Starr at the time. She was very involved in the business and some people believed her to be the brains of the business. Her brains carried over to her husband's presidency and she was often outspoken regarding political issues. Some even said that she was more involved than the president himself. She also had an incredible knack for throwing elegant parties and was given the nickname the Duchess. She was really into fashion and often wore silk neck bands to hide her wrinkles. Florence was a progressive first lady and did modern things like traveling by plane showing movies at dinner and it's also said that she served her guests alcohol during the Prohibition. She was also the first first lady to vote she owned a video camera and was the first ever to invite a celebrity to the White House. Harry Collins designed her inauguration gown and it was gorgeous. It featured pearl sequins on Tull with a rhinestone trimmed blue velvet ribbon. She looked absolutely stunning by her husband's side.

Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge: Grace met her husband Calvin Coolidge when he was an attorney. Her mother objected to their relationship and didn't like her son-in-law but grace loved her husband and didn't let her mother's opinion change her opinion about him. During Calvin's second inauguration he didn't go for a big public event instead he went with a private party. Because of this grace didn't have an elegant ball gown but she did look nice on inauguration day. Since it was the 20s she wore a flapper style evening dress in gold LeMay with velvet trimmed black and gold metallic lace. She looked stunning in the current fashion.

Lou Henry Hoover: Lou Henry Hoover met her husband Herbert Hoover when the two were at Stanford University. At the time she was the only geology major in the school. Lou was known as the best-dressed woman in the United States and she was the first-ever first lady to appear in Vogue magazine. She always made sure to wear american-made clothes and unlike other fashionistas she didn't buy anything from overseas. She used her role as the first lady to promote the U.S. textile industry. She only wore cotton based dresses and her inaugural dress was a simple evening gown complete with metallic thread broke odd.

Eleanor Roosevelt: Eleanor is one of the most popular first ladies. She was very vocal in her support of women's rights and civil rights while her husband Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in office. She was always busy with one of her causes that she didn't have much time to worry about fashion. For her husband's inauguration she wore a slate blue gown and the color was later called Eleanor Blue. Sally Milgram designed the dress and it had a Gulf flower and leaf pattern. In 1933 it was something that a celebrity would wear.

Elizabeth Wallace Truman: Elizabeth met her husband harry truman when they were just kids in school. She was one of the first ladies who had no interest in politics or anything political. Although these things didn't interest her she took her role as first lady seriously. She often hosted parties and did the other things expected of her as first lady. When her husband was elected president it was right after FDR's passing. A woman named Madam Pola designed her inauguration gown and it was a dark color with white accents complete with a fur cape. People loved her dress.

Mamie Doud Eisenhower: Mamie met Dwight D Eisenhower in San Antonio Texas. He was in the military and the couple traveled a bit before he ran for president and won by a landslide. Unlike many of the first ladies before her Mamie loved fashion. She also loved to play the hostess. Many of her outfits were designed by skocy molly Parnas treifre and sally victor. She was also known as one of the best-dressed women of her time. Deor even fashioned a complete look after her and called it the Mamie look. The look was a full skirt a dress with lots of accessories such as pearls small hats charm bracelets and banks. Her inauguration dress contained over two thousand rhinestones. Today the dress is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American history's collection of inaugural gowns and hers is one of the most popular.

Jackie Kennedy: Jackie Kennedy is one of the most famous most loved first ladies in history. Both she and her husband John F Kennedy were very stylish and were among the youngest to enter the office in the White House. When they met John was a congressman already thinking about the White House. When JFK took office the nation was beginning to be focused on television and movie culture. Jackie's looks were often dissected and people loved her style. She worked with one leading designer Oleg Cassini. Jackie was anxious about the way she was portrayed in the media and she was the first to hire a press secretary. She wanted to control the way that she was perceived in the media and the way that her children were photographed. She was the first first lady to be considered royalty. For her husband's inauguration she wore a gorgeous off-white sleeveless silk chiffon gown that was embroidered with silver thread. She made sure to choose something that would stand out on black-and-white television and it was a huge hit.

Lady Bird Johnson: When Linda Johnson took office it was right after the assassination of John F Kennedy. Because of this the inaugural event wasn't filled with joy and happiness like the previous ones. She chose a bright yellow gown designed by John Moore. she chose yellow because she wanted it to symbolize hope and optimism while the country was mourning. As the first lady she didn't focus much on fashion instead she put her time into her own cause head start. It's a program designed to help children from low-income families get a good education. Head Start still exists today.

Pat Nixon: Pat Nixon was the wife of President Richard Nixon. When her husband took office the United States was in an uproar. Many people were protesting the Vietnam War which tore the country apart. The assassination of Martin Luther King didn't help the country either. Nixon claimed that he would restore law and order in the US and even considered criminalizing the civil rights movement and anti-war protests. This didn't help Nixon's popularity at all. For her inauguration Galan Pat chose a yellow gown. It was embroidered with gold and silver and included Austrian crystals.

Rosalynn Carter: Rosalynn Carter is the wife of President Jimmy Carter. During Carter's inauguration the country's economy was suffering rather than paying for a fancy ball. President Carter wanted to host a People's inauguration party. They sold tickets at $25 each and Rosalynn didn't even buy a new dress instead she wore a dress that she had already worn when her husband was governor. Rosalynn didn't want to wear an expensive dress dripping in jewels when many Americans were suffering financially. Her recycled dress was a blue chiffon gown with gold trim.

Nancy Reagan: Nancy was the wife of President Ronald Reagan. Who was a former movie star because of this he didn't shy away from the limelight and loved expensive parties. His inauguration ball was one of the most expensive ever. Many Americans didn't like this because the country was in a recession at the time. During her husband's first inauguration ball nancy wore a white beaded one-shoulder dress with silk satin and lace overlay. When her husband was elected for a second term she wore a dress designed by gala noce. The designer and staff spent over 300 hours hand-stitching the beads and it cost a shocking 46 thousand dollars.

Hillary Clinton: When Bill Clinton was elected president his wife Hillary was already working on her own political agenda. For bills first inauguration ball Hillary wore a purple beaded lace gown by a designer in Little Rock Arkansas. For Bill's second inauguration hillary decided to go the high fashion route and she wore a dress designed by Oscar de la Renta with a matching cape. Oscar de la Renta says he considers Hillary a friend and she has quote a symbol of where women want to go.

Michelle Obama: Michelle Obama is the wife of President Barack Obama and they are the first African American family in the White House. For the first inauguration Michelle were a white one-shoulder chiffon dress designed by Jason Wu. While Jason Wu had made a name for himself before Michelle wore his dress she helped him earn international fame. Jason Wu also designed Michelle's second inauguration gown. This one was a halter neck red chiffon and velvet gown. Like Jackie Kennedy the media followed Michelle's fashion closely and she appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine three times.

Melania Trump: Melania Trump is married to President Donald Trump. Before the two met she was a fashion model which is unorthodox. Many people were shocked to find out that there are nude photos of the first lady in existence. Getting addressed for the inauguration ball wasn't easy for Melania or any other member of the Trump family. Many designers are disgusted with Trump's policies so despite the fact that designing an inauguration gown could help their careers they refused to dresser. these designers include Christian Siriano, Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, Sophie theillah, Phillip Lim, demmick Lam, Humberto Leon, Timo Weiland and Naeem Khan finally she got hair of Pierre to design her dress. Her fashion choices have been criticized often and many even call them insensitive.

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