First Ladies

Jackie ♦ March 4, 2009 ♦ Leave a Comment

My favorite first lady of all time is definitely Dolly Madison, the beautiful Quaker who introduced ice cream to the White House wearing a feathered turban. I read a biography of her as a kid and it’s never left me, and recently I read A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation which truly did her justice and made me have even more affection for her. She was dashing, smart, brave and stylish, and I thrilled to her life when I was a mousy little girl with glasses.

I don’t think it’s too early in this administration to say that we are truly living in a rich age for first ladies. If you doubt me, pick up the current issue of Vogue with our own Michelle Obama on the cover. Inside, there’s not only a great feature on Mrs. O, but also some great pieces on Silda Spitzer, former first lady of New York, Queen Noor of Jordan, and Carla Bruni, current first lady of France. It’s a pretty impressive assemblage of modern women, all of them beautiful, brilliant and accomplished. I even bought myself Carla Bruni’s No Promises, which is perfect coffeehouse music for winter evenings at home.

One of the major ways Dolly Madison was such an innovative First Lady was in her use of the White House itself as a public gathering place, and I’m thrilled and intrigued to see the Obamas beginning to do the same. I’ve lived near DC most of my life, and the idea of being invited inside is just breathtaking. Who knows? Maybe someday in the next four years, somebody reading these words will be inside those storied walls.