WASHINGTON — Inauguration Day will belong to President Barack Obama, but that night will be wife Michelle's turn in the spotlight, as all eyes will be on her — and her choice of ball gown.

Throughout U.S. history, and especially in the post-World War II era, first ladies have made statements about themselves and the times they live in with their inaugural wardrobes.

"They are symbols of our country. They reflect around the world an image of our country," said Carl Sferrazza Anthony, a historian who's written extensively about first ladies.

At the same time, he said, people want to know that the president's wife is accessible to them.

"The first lady is a balancing act between being a queen and a commoner," Anthony said. "The inaugural gown is a metaphor for the first lady role."

The statuesque Obama has excited fashion designers, who are eager to dress her, but observers say that the recession makes it likely that she will wear a subdued gown in keeping with the country's economic downturn.

"I'm sure she won't have an over-the-top gown studded with diamonds and rubies," said etiquette expert Letitia Baldrige, former social secretary to first lady Jackie Kennedy. "It will be something suitably quiet for the times."

Women's Wear Daily has created a buzz with its feature "Michelle Obama: What should she wear?," which showcases designers' sketches for her inaugural gown done at the behest of the newspaper.

The reaction to the piece on the Web, said Bobbi Queen, WWD senior fashion editor, "has been unbelievable." The posting, with a slide show, has had nearly 6 million hits and has been on six or seven blogs. Queen thinks Obama's appeal is that she's the first presidential wife "since Jacqueline Kennedy who has the presence and elegance that would intrigue women."

As for the importance of the gown itself, Queen said it would be worn at one of the most significant occasions of Obama's life — and that of the nation.

"Just about everyone yearns to dress Michelle, who could raise the profile of American fashion around the world," she said.

Inauguration fever as we now know it, with multiple balls, galas and celebrations, is a relatively new phenomenon. The tradition of the inaugural ball began in 1809 with first lady Dolley Madison, a skillful hostess who knew that social events could support her husband's presidency.

Throughout the 19th century, there was usually a single inaugural ball, paid for by the winner's political party. Some of them were in hotels or temporary quarters, according to Anthony, but then the Pension Building, which is now the National Building Museum, became the preferred site for the inaugural ball.

Sometimes the personality of the president and wartime intervened. There were, in fact, no official inaugural balls from 1913 to 1949.

President Woodrow Wilson decided that there'd be no balls in 1913 and again in 1917 because of World War I. Warren G. Harding started to plan for one in 1921 and encountered so much criticism that there was instead a private inaugural ball paid for by a wealthy benefactor of his wife's.

Evocative of the flapper era it was designed in, Florence Harding's iridescent gown is made of tulle and adorned with pearlized sequins and gold beads. It's in the Smithsonian Museum of American History's popular first ladies' gown collection, which reopened Dec. 19 after museum renovations.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@