Nothing to Wear !

First Ladies have always been in the spotlight for their attire. Critics and gossips have stood at the ready since Martha Washington's days to comment on what the First Lady was wearing. Remember the splash Jackie Kennedy made in Paris with her Oleg Cassini wardrobe. She got more attention by far than her husband, the President. In the 1920's culottes became fashionable and Grace Coolidge bought a pair. Her husband insisted she return them because, "no woman in the family ever wore them." Even though that was all the more reason to wear them, Grace obediently returned the culottes. Nancy Reagan wore a knickers outfit - designed by Galanos - to dinner with the French President and his wife in Paris. The comments were that it was more like a maternity top and pants. Poor Nancy. Poor Galanos.

Of course, during the nineteenth century pants were a No No. Instead women wore corsets, hoops and bustles. No wonder Amelia Bloomer's baggy pants became a hit during the "right-to-vote" years. Even after slacks became a part of the well-dressed lady's wardrobe - thanks to Kate Hepburn - First Ladies avoided them in public. Eleanor Roosevelt would sometimes greet her guests in a riding habit, but that wasn't really considered pants. And imagine, Eleanor's clothing budget per year was $300. Jackie Kennedy's was considerably more!

Woodrow Wilson's first wife, Ellen, was a thrifty lady who was not accustomed to spending much money on clothes and kept a small wardrobe. But after she moved into the White House, she thought she needed to spruce up a bit. She had to pay for her clothing out of her own pocket. When a newspaper reported that she had spent several hundred dollars on seven gowns, she produced receipts showing the critics that the entire shopping spree cost exactly $140.84. But it didn't include any pants.