03/12/2025

Join FLARE on March 19 at 7 pm EDT for a program by Annette Dunlap moderated by Nichola Gutgold on first lady and fashion, Inside the Wardrobe.

Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at 7pm ET

Inside the Wardrobe: First Ladies and the Politics of Fashion

Since the founding of the republic, Americans have used a first lady’s attire as the proxy for critiquing her performance. Martha Washington wisely “dressed down” as first lady. Dolley Madison popularized turbans. Harriet Lane’s fashion taste made her more popular than her presidential uncle, James Buchanan, and the Roaring Twenties’ styles looked like they were designed just for Grace Coolidge. Mamie pink became all the rage in the ‘50s, and her successor, Jackie Kennedy is etched in our memories as a fashion icon. From Martha to Melania, first ladies’ wardrobes have played an important part in our national psyche and our national economy. Tune in to “Inside the Wardrobe: First Ladies and the Politics of Fashion,” for a deeper dive into the stories behind some of our first ladies’ sartorial choices.

The program is at 7 pm ET. To view the program go to: Flare’s Facebook page or  YouTube channel.

Bio:

Annette B. Dunlap

Annette B. Dunlap is an independent scholar and the author of the biographies of first ladies Frances Folsom Cleveland and Lou Henry Hoover. She was a panelist on C-SPAN’s first ladies’ series, appearing on the broadcasts for Frances Cleveland and Lou Hoover. Annette was a panelist at the 2015 Harding Symposium’s program, “Modern First Ladies,” hosted by Ohio State University. She is a contributor to the recently released book, What the Presidents Read, with an article about Lou Henry Hoover, and she has written the entry on Helen Herron Taft for the forthcoming book about Ohio’s first ladies. Annette became interested in first ladies’ fashions after writing an article for White House History Quarterly on Frances Cleveland’s wardrobe. Her presentation at the Herbert Hoover Library, “First Ladies and the Politics of Fashion,” was recorded by C-SPAN.