Every First Lady is entitled to some new clothes for the inauguration!

Clothes Make the Woman…

Of course it helps if you are good looking. It helps even more, if you have money.

Martha Washington in her late fifties was certainly no beauty when she became the First Lady. She didn’t even attend the inauguration, new gown or not.

Abigail Adams was never a beauty. She didn’t attend the inauguration either.

The first FLOTUS to attend was Dolley Madison. She was forty, good looking and stylish – without being opulent. She set the standard for First Ladies to follow.

But not all FLOTUSes were good looking.

Mary Lincoln, however…

…was in her early forties. Certainly not beautiful, but nice-enough looking at the time. Certainly not wealthy, but she had splurged in both Chicago and New York on “appropriate” style-setting outfits. The problem was, they were not up to sophisticated Washington styles. She learned that part very quickly. One of her first FLOTUS actions was to engage a personal dressmaker.

She also learned that the merchants in New York and Philadelphia were happy to grant her unlimited credit for her gowns and bonnets, jewelry and shawls. She took full advantage, but her “taste” didn’t quite catch on.

In fact, the only thing that did catch on was her extravagance, mostly unknown to the President.

Fast Forward a Hundred Years

Jacqueline Kennedy was definitely a “looker.” She was young, and her simple elegance (nothing but the best) caught on like wildfire. When her husband complained of her “extravagance,” her father-in-law, a man of deep pockets, told her to buy whatever she wanted and send HIM the bill. She was happy to oblige.

But her clothes, even today, are perfection. They were of the finest quality (but so were Eleanor Roosevelt’s, and they didn’t set any styles), and they were easily copied for the mass market. And the market massed like no other!

Perhaps the best part of Jackie’s fashion influence was that her A-line styles looked good on everyone, no matter their size or shape.

Going Backward Again

Ida McKinley became First Lady in 1897. She was fifty. She had been, as her husband was happy to let everyone know, “the prettiest girl in Canton Ohio” some twenty-five years earlier. She was also one of the wealthiest. Her father, James Saxton, was the newspaper publisher, the banker and a large property owner in town. He liked his new son-in-law a lot! Things looked good!

But Ida’s life had taken a dreadful turn a few years into her marriage to William McKinley. A series of tragedies, deaths of two children, and serious health problems had turned her into a demanding semi-invalid. The remnants of her frail, petite beauty remained, but her life was sad.

Her marriage, however, was still a happy one. McKinley adored his ailing wife and made every effort to grant her every wish. Or whim. She had become self-centered and difficult, completely revolving her life around herself, her husband, and their life together. He was, in the Victorian phrase, “her all.”

Even his decision to run for Congress (he was thirty-three, and they had been married for only five years) was predicated on her health. He believed a complete change of venue might lift her despondency.

His political rise was not meteoric, or even particularly notable. He became a tariff-maven, which in itself creates as much zing as a bowl of oatmeal. But he was also one of the nicest fellows in Congress – or Ohio, for that matter. He made friends everywhere. Even his political opponents could find little disparaging to say about him.

And a man so devoted to his invalid wife packs a substantial political plus!

The Trousseau

James Saxton lived a full life, and when he died, he left Ida, his eldest daughter, a substantial inheritance: About $80,000, worth more than a million today.

By the late 1890s however, styles had changed to reflect the emergence of a new type of woman. Smart. Athletic. Active. Healthier. On-the-move. The A-line skirts and short jackets were made for this kind of lifestyle. The split (or divided) skirt was specifically fashionable for bicycles.

Despite her frail condition and inability to exercise at all, and despite the three gargantuan meals the McKinley’s were said to enjoy daily, Ida remained petite. And she loved clothes and jewelry and all the trimmings.

Taste being taste, she had her own – and it was frilly and perhaps a little out of style. Taffeta silk gowns that caused the pleasant rustling of frou-frou (rich noise) were party clothes, mostly worn by wealthy women.

That was Ida’s style.

The election of her husband to the presidency was a monumental event in her life, and with her inheritance (or at least some of it), she wanted to splurge on herself. William McKinley was only too happy to acquiesce. She deserved some personal pleasure.

Ida Goes Shopping

Trousseaus are usually connected to brides and weddings. But they also connote a complete new wardrobe purchased for a major event. Like becoming First Lady. Ida consulted the finest dressmakers and modistes, and purchased an assortment of gowns and wraps, shoes and shawls and perhaps even negligee plus all the accessories. All of the finest material, the most expensive ribbons and laces. Nothing but the best! It is said to have cost her $10,000 – well into six-figures today.

And in every newspaper article about the McKinley campaign of 1896, there was mention of Mrs. McKinley’s inaugural trousseau – and its price tag. It would probably be tacky today, but back then she was thrilled to be included. And the POTUS-to-be was happy to provide some joy in her life.

And it was her own money.

Sources:

Foster, Feather Schwartz – Mary Lincoln’s Flannel Pajamas and Other Stories from the First Ladies’ Closet – Koehler Publishing, 2016

Leech, Margaret – In the Days of McKinley – Harper & Brothers, 1959

Morgan, H. Wayne – William McKinley and His America – Syracuse University Press, 1964

https://www.nps.gov/fila/learn/historyculture/ida-mckinley-life.htm

https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/first-families/ida-saxton-mckinley/