iVillage

50 Years of First Lady Fashion: How Jackie, Nancy & Michelle Defined American Style

For the past half-century, America's first ladies have led the nation's shifting attitudes toward style. We present a look back at the fashion that ruled the White House through the last 10 presidencies (12 Photos)

Fiorella Valdesolo on Jan 11, 2013 at 12:28PM

chime in now

Single View
View All

3 of 12

50 Years of First Lady Fashion: How Jackie, Nancy & Michelle Defined American Style

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

First Lady Lady Bird Johnson: 1963-1969

Following the fashion legacy built by one Jackie Kennedy was the unenviable position of Lady Bird Johnson. Yet through pared-down elegance that favored function over fashion, she still left an impression during husband Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency. As Lady Bird once told Time, “I like clothes—I like them pretty, but I want them to serve me, not for me to serve them.”

Signature: Pearl necklace, straw hats, shift dresses.