Did a first lady wear a $ 46,000 gown to an inaugural ball?

The inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris was a day the United States had never experienced before. Security concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent attack on the Capitol have led to a number of changes to the schedule for inauguration day.

For example, the inaugural ball was canceled. Past inaugural balls included a first dance for the president and the first lady, and a special wardrobe is traditionally chosen by each first lady. According to an online ad, a first lady would have spent around $ 46,000 on a dress:

The ad featured photos of Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Michelle Obama and Melania Trump. Readers who clicked on the ad were taken through 55 pages of images and details in a lengthy slideshow with the headline: First Ladies Fashion Over The Years. Some first ladies appeared on several pages. Nancy Reagan was one of those women:

After [Ronald] Reagan was elected for a second term, Nancy wore designer Galanos and the dress was white again, but this time it was fitted with long sleeves. Apparently the designer and staff spent over three hundred hours placing beads on the dress. The dress cost around $ 46,000!

It was true that in 1985 the First Lady wore a wardrobe to Ronald Reagans’ second inauguration that would total, at retail, $ 46,000. However, it was misleading to claim that Nancy Reagans’ inaugural ball gown alone cost $ 46,000. Additionally, the Nancy Reagans dress featured in the ad photo was from 1981, not 1985.

The Washington Post reported in 1985 that the actual price Ms. Reagan paid is a private matter, adjusted by designers due to the exposure given to their designs when wearing them. However, the Post turned to industry sources and confirmed that the costs, at retail, for the clothes Ms.Reagan plans to wear for major inaugural festivities, excluding certain accessories, would be. $ 46,000.

The White House Reagan declined to comment to the Post on the amount paid for the woman’s first inaugural ball gown and other merchandise. However, the publications report included a breakdown of what it would have cost to purchase the Nancy Reagans dress and other accessories at retail:

A totally beaded dress with an Art Deco design and a bolero effect by James Galanos, $ 22,500. Austrian and Czechoslovakian glass beads took more than 300 hours to apply by hand, the designer said last week.

A matching electric blue coat and dress, each with a chain link belt, by Adolfo, $ 2,800. The designer also made a rolled-up hat in the same blue to wear with the suit. (The designer also lends link earrings and a necklace to Ms. Reagan.)

Long draped side dress in red lacquered silk by Bill Blass, to wear to the gala, $ 3,000. The dress is similar to a dress that Blass gives to its customers for spring.

In addition, Ms. Reagan also ordered a double-sided white woolen coat with three jeweled buttons that close at the side to wear over the white dress, $ 6,000; and a white mink bomber jacket, also a Galanos design, $ 10,500.

A red wool jersey scarf, specially designed to cover the red dress worn at the gala, $ 1,000.

A twisted bead chocker and earrings by Kenneth Jay Lane to wear with the red dress $ 200. (In fact, the designer made two necklaces to give Ms. Reagan a choice.)

This total of $ 46,000 does not include shoes or other specially handcrafted accessories to complete each outfit.

In short, Nancy Reagans’ wardrobe for her husband’s second inauguration might have totaled $ 46,000 at retail, but that was not the price of a single dress or dress. In addition, prices may have been reduced for the exhibition that the first lady brought to the designers.

It was far from the first time that women in politics had been criticized, perhaps unfairly, for their clothing choices.

In 2017, Business Insider reported on a $ 51,500 jacket worn by Melania Trump. Michelle Obama is also said to have once shown Boots at $ 3,900. In 2016, CNBC.com reported that Hillary Clinton once wore a $ 12,000 jacket. Where was it $ 7,500? Sarah Palin, who was Vice President of John McCains in 2008, would have spent $ 150,000 on her country wardrobe.

As with Nancy Reagans, a supposed $ 46,000 wardrobe for dresses, gowns, and accessories, the prices of clothes worn by other women in politics may also have been purchased at discounted prices due to the exposure they brought to creators.