Wednesday, May 12, 2010

The First Lady's First Gown


A few weeks ago my family went on a vacation to Washington, D.C. I've always wanted to take a trip to D.C. and ours definitely lived up to my expectations. I had a ball!

One of my "must-sees" (on the list just after the National Portrait Gallery) was the gown Michele Obama wore to the inaugural ball. The dress, along with the other First Ladies' gowns, is on display at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

As the daughter of a seamstress, I have a great appreciation for dresses. While I'm not overly enamored with the idea of wearing a fancy frock, I sure do like seeing them!

Yep, I'm one of those folks who watches the award shows to see the clothes - not the actual awards.

So, it was a big thrill to see the gowns worn by the First Ladies. Some were stunning, such as the sleeveless pink gown worn by Mamie Eisenhower for the 1953 inauguration. It had over 2,000 rhinestones!

Others were just surpr
ising - not for their impressiveness, but for the lack thereof. Such as the pale green dress that zippered up the front, worn by Betty Ford to state dinners at the White House. Zipper? In the front??? I know my mother would not have approved!

Michelle's dress was so beautiful up close! I know it caused a stir with the one strap (gasp!) But I can attest to the fact that it was lovely.

It was fantastic to see the dress on display with the actual jewelry she wore with it. Those long earrings were gorgeous. And check out that honkin' big ring just below. You could easily visualize how sparkly and spectacular she was that night!

I was left wondering whether her dress has inspired wedding gown look-alikes. I guess that was a "Duh!" on my part. Of course there are!

Here is one
by Sarah Houston .
You, too, can be the First Lady for one day!