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CNN Live At Daybreak
First Lady Fashions
Aired August 22, 2001 - 08:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The dress style I'm wearing was actually inspired by the simple shift dresses Jacqueline Kennedy made famous in the White House. And it's not the last time first ladies have shaped the billion dollar fashion industry.
And sometimes the fashion industry transforms the first lady. Just check this out. Look at Hillary Clinton's transformation. There's the before during the campaign. And there is the first lady after.
Nancy Reagan made designer Oscar de la Renta a White House-hold word. Barbara Bush had women around the country buying Arnold Scaasi and pearls. And she has been a big influence on her daughter-in-law Laura Bush.
Just ask Robin Givhan, fashion editor for the "Washington Post." She's in New York this morning.
Good morning, Robin.
ROBIN GIVHAN, FASHION EDITOR, "WASHINGTON POST": Good morning.
LIN: When I interviewed Laura Bush and I asked her, "What is the best advice that Barbara Bush gave her during the campaign?" she said "Wear vivid colors."
(LAUGHTER)
LIN: And all of the sudden, you saw her in these bright reds. And she tended towards tans and creams, very conservative.
GIVHAN: Right.
LIN: But Barbara Bush really has Laura Bush's ear when it does come to fashion.
GIVHAN: Oh, absolutely. And it's obviously to be expected.
You know, this is someone who -- this is her mother-in-law. She's close to her. And she's held the position before. She knows what to expect. And I think she was absolutely right in recommending that she wear vivid colors, because they photograph well.
LIN: So what can you tell by Laura Bush's choices so far in what she's wearing, in terms of whether she is going to be a trendsetter, then?
GIVHAN: Well, I think the first thing is that she probably is not going to be a trendsetter unless she goes through some incredible transformation. My sense, really, is that her goal is to fly under the radar, so to speak.
I think she really wants to dress appropriately, and she wants to sort of do the country proud. But I don't think that she's out to set any trends. I don't think she wants to be known as a fashion plate. Very specifically, her office has always been very adamant and very, very straightforward about saying: Look, she wants to be judged by her actions and her words and not by her appearance.
LIN: And yet it's inevitable, with the amount exposure that any first lady gets on camera.
I mean, this is Laura Bush on her European trip with her husband, the president.
GIVHAN: Right.
(CROSSTALK)
LIN: And this gold gown really drew a lot of attention and a few headlines.
GIVHAN: What's really interesting to me is that, as much as I think every first lady, probably since Nancy Reagan, has sort of shunned the fashion industry when they first arrive on the scene, I think eventually they all sort of come around to the idea that people are looking at their clothes, and they're taking cues from them, and not just sort of trend cues, but really trying to get clues as to sort of the tone and the point of view of the first lady.
I just think that, you know, the position itself is very symbolic. And the clothes, I think, are part of that symbolism.
LIN: But, Robin, you know, it seems to me that Laura Bush may want to model herself after her mother-in-law. Most of us don't dress like our mother-in-laws.
GIVHAN: No.
(LAUGHTER)
LIN: But she is doing a few racy little things. She is raising that hemline a little bit.
GIVHAN: Well, I think, also, as one fashion editor said to me, when you see your picture plastered across the world in every newspaper, when you see video clips, when you realize that every photograph is going to go into the vault for history, I think you start trying to look as best as you can. And you start turning to experts who can offer you...
LIN: The designers. (CROSSTALK)
GIVHAN: Yes, some wise advice.
LIN: The designers are now presenting her some options.
But are designers now having to adjust to a concept of a more modern first lady and not the society maiden who might have previously been entering the White House?
GIVHAN: I think, for designers, one of the things that they have had to come to grips with is, they have had for years a longing for another Jackie Kennedy. Every time another first lady enters the White House, they sort of have fingers their crossed: Maybe this will be our Jackie.
LIN: But you're saying this ain't happening in this administration?
GIVHAN: But it's not happening. And it hasn't -- Jackie really was an aberration, in a lot of ways, for her incredible sense of style.
I think designers look at the first lady, and most -- mostly what they hope for is someone who will be appreciative of the fashion industry, who will be supportive, and who will, you know, embrace it and not act as if any association with it is a detriment.
LIN: But the exposure sure doesn't hurt.
GIVHAN: Oh, absolutely not.
LIN: Thanks so much. Thanks, Robin Givhan.
GIVHAN: It was a pleasure.
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