If in recent years we’ve come to know (and appreciate) Kate Middleton as the recycling princess – how can we forget her. Long double-breasted burgundy coat by Catherine Walker with velvet details on the collar and sleeves, worn in 2018 for the celebration of Christmas, and again in March 2020 – for American first ladies never to wear the same dress twice remains an irresistible dictate.. This was told by the former chief of staff of Laura Bush, Anita McBride, who worked in the White House from 2005 to 2009 and knows all the secrets of the wardrobe of prime ladies, for whom it is still considered inappropriate to wear the same dress for more than one hour. occasion, given the enormous media significance of each of their speeches.
But how to keep track of all the items of clothing that have already been shown in public, and not make a mistake? The secret was revealed by McBride herself in an interview with Insider and told the New York Post: “During the Bush presidency – and I believe other aides to the first ladies did as well – every dress they wear had a label painted on it indicating where they wore it. him and when, and you write it down.” But that’s not all, because clothes once worn seem to be delivered to the National Archives along with presidential papers, gifts and other items that become part of the permanent collection of the National Archives Museum in Washington and the Presidential Library.
This tracking system, no matter how exploratory it may seem, has been tested for decades and allows you to remember not only what things have already been worn in public, but also quickly change outfits if necessary., in what is defined as true “fashion emergencies”. For example, when a White House staffer noticed that George W. Bush’s wife, now 75, was about to appear on Fox News wearing the same shirt as in the previous interview. In just a few minutes, the first lady had to change with the help of her press officer, thus avoiding a huge stylistic mistake. “With everyday events like this, you don’t really keep track of something as simple as a blouse and a pair of trousers,” McBride explains. “It’s kind of like a small fashion emergency that can happen. Just change quickly.” Therefore, composure and always fresh ideas to create images that can leave their mark, but that never repeat.
For the same reason the first lady will never wear items at popular prices or already presented in high fashion boutiquesthus avoiding the inconvenience of being in the same dress as one of your guests, as happened this spring with Laetitia Ortiz’s black and white Mango-designed dress, identical to that of a professor who attended the event. . It is better to avoid awkward coincidences and use the services of designers and seamstresses who can create one-of-a-kind ad hoc dresses. A similar incident occurred in 2006, when, on the occasion of the Kennedy Center gala, Laura Bush chose to wear a red Oscar de la Renta dress. Shortly before the evening began, the first lady noticed that two other guests were wearing the same dress that the designer had introduced that year in his collection. To spare her guests embarrassment, she ran to change and chose an inlaid black dress. And the choice turned out to be correct.
Source: Elle