DEL.ICIO.USFirst ladies judged by their sense of style
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The first lady may have the most undefined role in Washington, but it’s still an important job, and any woman who takes it on better be ready for her close-up.
While the country will judge the president on his political decisions, the first lady is more often assessed on her image, especially her wardrobe.
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We need only refer to the recent flap over Sarah Palin’s $150,000 campaign clothing expense to confirm that for women in the political arena, clothing and style are no small matters. But the thin line between fashion and frivolity can land even the most practiced public figure in a sartorial sinkhole.
“It’s not that you can’t be well-dressed and in style, but if you are going to be taken seriously by the American public, you have to work on the gravitas thing,” said Myra Gutin, a communications professor at Rider University in New Jersey and authority on American first ladies.
Not since Jackie Kennedy moved into the White House in the early ’60s has a first lady balanced the two qualities so well. In a recent Women’s Wear Daily poll, nearly half the respondents ranked Kennedy as the most stylish and most influential first lady in recent history. Only first lady hopefuls Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama, who respectively ranked second and third on style (one of four categories) came close to meeting the Kennedy standard.
Rutin considers Jackie a singular “style icon.”
At 31, Kennedy was one of the three youngest first ladies, a mother and a Francophile who had previously interned at Vogue magazine. In a fascinating move for a first lady, she announced her pet project was to renovate the White House. “She was a very handsome woman who was wearing couture and working on a glamorous project,” Rutin said.
That glamour endures. In 2001, the Metropolitan Museum of Art even mounted an exhibit, “Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years,” celebrating what museum director Philippe de Montebello termed “the timeless impact of her extraordinary, unforgettable grace and style.”
Women were captivated by Kennedy’s sophisticated tastes, and quickly adopted her manner of dress, which included pill box hats, oversize sunglasses and designer (or at least designer-inspired) fashions. She was a favorite among men, as well.
The modern reign of first-lady-as-celebrity had begun, and more than four decades later the American public still has heightened expectations of style and fashion at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
“What if one of these women came out looking kind of like a slob? It would be a scandal in its own way,” explained Cormac O’Brien, author of “Secret Lives of the First Ladies: What Your Teacher Never Told You About the Women of the White House” (Quirk Books, $16.95). “Women’s fashion is timeless and something that people invariably associate with women.”
But the fashion world has changed since Kennedy had an insider’s access to the industry, said David Goodrowe, coordinator of fashion programs at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta. “Nowadays everybody has that kind of information at their fingertips, so it is hard to become an icon.”
Both Obama and McCain have their youth (40ish and 50ish are still the new 30), and already they’ve demonstrated enough stylish risk-taking to inspire imitators.
For instance, online retailer edressme.com offers the “first lady fever sale” as a search category to help customers find dresses that embody the style of the potential first ladies.
Obama, with her mix of midprice off-the-rack retail and up-and-coming designer garb, doesn’t balk at revealing her arms in Kennedy-esque shift dresses. Meanwhile, McCain owns the full-on heiress image in expensive looks from the likes of Oscar de la Renta.
Heading into this historic election, somewhere deep in the back of our collective consciousness, we may still be hoping for the next Jackie Kennedy, though maybe not for the reason we think.
“I don’t know that we are holding first ladies to the standard of being a fashion icon,” Goodrowe said. “I think we are holding them up to a standard of being a role model for women.”
It’s a tough job, but they’re both ready to do it.
TRENDSETTER
Jacqueline Kennedy set the bar high, and whoever is the next first lady seems up to the standard
CINDY McCAIN STYLE
Her wardrobe features a hefty dose of high-end designers including St. John suits, Chanel accessories and Oscar de la Renta dresses. While her style is sleek and chic, attaining it may be a reach for many. David Goodrowe, fashion program coordinator at Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta, noted that recently she has traded her stiff stand-up collars for supple leather jackets.
MICHELLE OBAMA STYLE
She goes for more accessible looks, such as the now-famous $148 dress from White House/Black Market, which she wore on “The View,” and skirts, sheath dresses and gowns by Chicago designer Maria Pinto, whose designs start around $300 and go up to several thousand.
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