Photo by andrewmtuThe 10th version of the first ladies exhibit opens today at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, featuring 26 dresses worn by first ladies as well as mementos from the days when the country referred to a first lady as “lady presidentress” or “republican queen.”
The updated exhibition includes Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown is a centerpiece of “The First Ladies” exhibit.
From the Smithsonian:
The First Ladies explores the unofficial but important position of first lady and the ways that different women have shaped the role to make their own contributions to the presidential administrations and the nation. The exhibition featurex more than two dozen gowns from the Smithsonian’s almost 100-year old First Ladies Collection, including those worn by Frances Cleveland, Lou Hoover, Jacqueline Kennedy, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama. A section titled “Changing Times, Changing First Ladies” highlights the roles played by Dolley Madison, Mary Lincoln, Edith Roosevelt, and Lady Bird Johnson and their contributions to their husband’s administrations. The First Ladies encourages visitors to consider the changing role played by the first lady and American women over the past 200 years.
