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Grover Cleveland's wife, Frances, was a fashion icon during the late 1800s and was considered the Jackie Kennedy of her day. Her inaugural gown was more of a two-piece ensemble -- an elegant floral chine skirt and a peach velvet bodice crafted by House of Doucet of Paris. (Courtesy of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History)
var so = new SWFObject("/design/flash_templates/preloaderAS3.swf", "soundslider", "624", "500", "9", "#FFFFFF"); so.addParam("allowScriptAccess", "always");so.addParam("quality", "high");so.addParam("wmode", "transparent");so.addParam("allowFullScreen", "true"); so.addVariable("thexml", "http://media.npr.org/assets/multimedia/2012/01/inagural_gowns/"); so.addVariable("theswf", "http://media.npr.org/design/flash_templates/nprgallery_embed.swf?path=http://media.npr.org/assets/multimedia/2012/01/inagural_gowns/"); so.write("slideshow144847911");Every four years in January, Washington, D.C., plays host to the country's biggest "prom." Inaugural balls bring out happy winners, administration bigwigs and a gown — on the first lady — that will become a part of history.
An exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History displays some of those gowns. NPR Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg took her dance card to the show.
