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  • 2021-01-22 (xsd:date)
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  • Did a First Lady Wear a $46K Dress to an Inaugural Ball? (en)
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  • The inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris was a day unlike any the United States had seen before. Safety concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent attack on the Capitol led to a number of changes for the Inauguration Day schedule. For example, the inaugural ball was canceled. Past inaugural balls included a first dance for the president and first lady, and that a special wardrobe is traditionally chosen by each first lady. According to an online advertisement, one first lady purportedly spent an estimated $46,000 on one dress: The ad featured pictures of Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump. Readers who clicked the ad were led through 55 pages of pictures and details in a lengthy slideshow story with the headline: First Ladies’ Fashion Over The Years. Some first ladies were featured on multiple pages. Nancy Reagan was one of those women: It was true that, in 1985, the first lady wore a wardrobe to Ronald Reagan's second inauguration that would total, at retail, for $46,000. However, it was misleading to claim that Nancy Reagan's inaugural ball dress alone cost $46,000. Further, Nancy Reagan's dress featured in the advertisement picture was from 1981, not 1985. The Washington Post reported in 1985 that the actual price paid by Mrs. Reagan is a private matter, adjusted by the designers because of the exposure given their designs when she wears them. However, the Post looked to industry sources and confirmed that the costs, at retail, for the clothes Mrs. Reagan plans to wear to the major inaugural festivities, excluding some accessories, would be $46,000. The Reagan White House declined to comment to the Post about the amount paid for the first lady's inaugural ball dress and other products. However, the Post's reporting included a breakdown of what it would have cost to purchase Nancy Reagan's dress and other accessories at retail: In sum, Nancy Reagan's wardrobe for her husband's second inauguration might have totaled $46,000 at retail, but that was not the price for a single dress or gown. Further, prices may have been reduced for the exposure the first lady brought to the designers. This was far from the first time that women in politics were criticized, perhaps unfairly, for their wardrobe choices. In 2017, Business Insider reported on a $51,500 jacket worn by Melania Trump. Michelle Obama also once purportedly showed off $3,900 boots. In 2016, CNBC.com reported that Hillary Clinton once wore a $12,000 jacket. Or, was it $7,500? Sarah Palin, who was John McCain's running mate in 2008, reportedly spent $150,000 on her campaign wardrobe. As with Nancy Reagan's supposed $46,000 wardrobe for dresses, gowns, and accessories, the prices for clothing worn by other women in politics may also have been purchased at reduced prices because of the exposure they brought to designers. (en)
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