20 WWD, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2008
TheWWDList
The Politics of Style
First ladies — dating back to Jacqueline Kennedy — and current
candidates’ wives ranked by respondents who said they are “stylish.”
JACQUELINE KENNEDY: YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, 1961-1963
Respondents who said she is stylish: 48 percent
Overall awareness: 56 percent; Appeal: 53 percent; Influential: 45 percent
“No one ever gave more meaning to the title of first lady,” Sen. Edward Kennedy said in his tribute at her memorial service in 1994. And no other
first lady sparked so many trends: sunglasses, pillbox hats, her hair and designer dresses. Jackie was just 31 when John F. Kennedy entered the
White House, and the public was riveted by the charismatic couple and their young children. “She was a trendsetter, and she was a lightning rod
for the press for her style — she still is,” Philpott said. Oleg Cassini was Kennedy’s primary designer. She also wore Chanel, Pierre Cardin and
Christian Dior. Jackie redecorated the White House and made history when she opened it up to a national audience with a television tour.
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CINDY MCCAIN
36 percent
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MICHELLE OBAMA
28 percent
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NANCY REAGAN: YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, 1981-1989
23 percent
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Awareness: 29 percent; Appeal: 33 percent; Influential: 27 percent
Although Michelle Obama has generated plenty of fashion buzz, McCain is clearly no slouch when it comes to style. On the abbreviated first day of
the Republican National Convention, she wore an eye-catching goldenrod-colored shirtdress with the collar up designed by Oscar de la Renta. “The
day after McCain wore that outfit, the public eye realized that, yes, she was interested in designers,” Philpott said. “She has the family wealth, she’s
not ashamed of it, so why change now? McCain is not afraid to wear designer clothing. And she does it in a tasteful, stylish way.” In the corporate
world, she inherited one of the nation’s largest Anheuser-Busch beer distributorships.
Awareness: 56 percent; Appeal: 45 percent; Influential: 33 percent
Obama, a Harvard-educated lawyer, has chosen wearable, classy pieces for her public appearances. “The public views Obama as more of a rollup-the-sleeves, get-the-work-done type,” Philpott said. “She appeals to the mainstream, because she is accessible and wears what more people
could wear. And she’s got great style.” Her fashion choices range from a tank leaf print dress from White House|Black Market for her appearance
on “The View” in June, to a black Isabel Toledo ensemble for a fund-raiser in July, to a Thakoon kimono dress during the Democratic National
Convention.
Awareness: 66 percent; Appeal: 52 percent; Influential: 39 percent
This former actress married fellow actor Ronald Reagan in 1952. Nancy Reagan upped the style quotient in the White House after the Carter years,
wearing her signature color, red, and donning designs from the likes of Bill Blass, James Galanos and Carolina Herrera, among many others. As
far as her style, “Nancy Reagan was a risk-taker on the higher end of the spectrum,” Philpott said. “In other words, she was not afraid to wear the
famous houses of design. Her choices were riskier than her predecessors.” A yearlong exhibit dedicated to Reagan’s wardrobe is being shown at the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. More than 80 dresses, including her 1952 wedding gown, are featured.
LAURA BUSH: YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, 2001-PRESENT
22 percent
Awareness: 71 percent; Appeal: 43 percent; Influential: 35 percent
“The term ‘classic’ comes to mind when we think of Laura Bush,” Philpott said. “She has remained true to herself. She’s not considered to be
glamorous, but she’s worn plenty of designer clothing during her time in the White House.” Bush, in fact, has strong relationships with de la Renta
and Herrera. Philpott added, “she seemed to make a conscious decision to remain low-key, in terms of fashion. She speaks to the issues more than
she dresses to them.” In the past several years, this former teacher has focused on initiatives such as education and literacy, preserving national
parks, and more recently, the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast.
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PAT NIXON: YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, 1969-1974
19 percent
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ROSALYNN CARTER: YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, 1977-1981
17 percent
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Awareness: 19 percent; Appeal: 36 percent; Influential: 31 percent
As first lady, Pat Nixon promoted volunteer service and created tours of the White House for the blind and deaf. She also added 600 paintings and
antiques to the White House collection before her husband resigned in 1974 due to the Watergate scandal. “Unfortunately, her husband’s troubled
presidency rubbed off on the public’s perception of her,” Philpott said. “These were historic times when he stepped down. Her fashion sense was not
much the center of attention.” She wore plain dresses, suits and coats (Richard Nixon referred to a coat of hers in his famous 1952 “Checkers” speech,
stating: “Pat doesn’t have a mink coat. But she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat, and I always tell her she’d look good in anything”).
Awareness: 23 percent; Appeal: 59 percent; Influential: 37 percent
In 1977, as Carter prepared to enter the White House with her husband, Jimmy, she told Time magazine, “I expect to bring my clothes and my sewing
machine. There are no material things at home that I’m tied to, that I’ve got to have with me.” Jack Moses, then president of Americus, Ga.-based
specialty store Jason’s, told Time in 1977, “Mrs. Carter is totally unimpressed by famous-name labels. If she likes an inexpensive item, she’ll take the
inexpensive item.” She is perhaps best known for serving as adviser to her husband — taking part in discussions to select presidential appointees. She
also served as honorary head of the President’s Commission on Mental Health and spent much of her time drawing national attention to the arts.
BETTY FORD: YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, 1974-1977
12 percent
Awareness: 40 percent; Appeal: 51 percent; Influential: 34 percent
Before marrying Gerald Ford in 1948, Betty Ford worked as a fashion model for the John Robert Powers firm and danced with the Martha Graham
company. She later became a fashion coordinator for a department store in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Mich. Ford was a highly influential first
lady, undergoing radical surgery for breast cancer in 1974 and speaking openly about her experience. In addition, she successfully battled drug and
alcohol dependency, and established the famed Betty Ford Center, an alcohol and drug rehabilitation clinic in California. “She was a crusader for
self-help and healing, and people didn’t care or pay attention to her style,” Philpott said.
BARBARA BUSH: YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, 1989-1993
11 percent
Awareness: 70 percent; Appeal: 43 percent; Influential: 33 percent
Bush’s style? Blue suits. And pearls. Lots of them. “She dressed very conservatively,” Philpott said. An excerpt from Pamela Kilian’s book, “Barbara
Bush: Matriarch of a Dynasty,” reads, “In Enid, Okla., a woman said, ‘Those pearls must be awful special. I see you with them all the time.’ Barbara,
who would later reveal that she wore the pearls to cover up her wrinkled neck, said with a smile, ‘They’re all different, and they’re all fake.’” Bush is
the second first lady to be both the wife and mother of a president (Abigail Adams was the first), and she is the only first lady to write a memoir from
her dog’s perspective.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE, 1993-2001
7 percent
Awareness: 92 percent; Appeal: 28 percent; Influential: 43 percent
Clinton made history this year in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. And she showed a sense of humor when she mocked her own
fashion sense — or lack thereof: She dubbed her loyal followers as the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits.” Her awareness score ranks higher
than any other first lady, and she gets high marks for the public’s perception of her as an influential public figure. Clinton was elected as senator
from New York in 2000, marking the first time a first lady had run for public office. Clinton is also the first female senator to represent New York.
SOURCE: E-POLL MARKET RESEARCH, A CELEBRITY RESEARCH FIRM WHICH TRACKS OVER 4,500 CELEBRITIES WITH ITS E-SCORE RANKING SYSTEM; “STYLE,” “APPEAL” AND “INFLUENCE” ATTRIBUTE RATINGS ARE ALL BASED ON THE PERCENTAGE OF RESPONDENTS WHO WERE AWARE OF EACH
CANDIDATE BY NAME AND FACE RECOGNITION; RESPONDENTS WERE POLLED ON OBAMA AND MCCAIN OVER THE PAST TWO WEEKS FOLLOWING THEIR RESPECTIVE NATIONAL CONVENTION APPEARANCES.
KENNEDY PHOTO BY MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/ GETTY IMAGES; MCCAIN BY MARY THULL; OBAMA BY MARCEL THOMAS/ GETTY IMAGES; REAGAN BY NORMAN PARKINSON LIMITED/CORBIS; BUSH BY JUSTIN SULLIVAN/ GETTY IMAGES;
FORD BY DAVID HUME KENNERLY/WHITE HOUSE/TIME LIFE PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES; CARTER AND NIXON BY BETTMANN/CORBIS; BUSH BY CYNTHIA JOHNSON/GETTY IMAGES; CLINTON BY TALAYA CENTENO
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WWD.COM
With the race for the White House in full swing, WWD wanted to see how
Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain stack up against first ladies of the past,
in terms of awareness, appeal, influence and, of course, style. E-Poll Market
Research questioned 1,100 respondents on their perceptions of the style
of first ladies dating to the Kennedy administration. More than 40 years
later, Jackie reigns as the ultimate fashion icon. “She was the first to set
the tone, in terms of fashion and style,” said Gerry Philpott, president and
chief executive officer of the firm. The scores for Lady Bird Johnson, the
wife of Lyndon B. Johnson, kept her out of the top 10. Where would GOP
vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin rank? Tied with Rosalynn Carter,
with 17 percent of respondents finding her to be stylish. As far as appeal
goes, she would place eighth with 42
For more, see WWD.com. percent — Cecily Hall