She is Expected to be a Fashion Icon
“The first lady is seen as a fashion icon, but it is a pricey role to play,” said First Lady Laura Bush, as written in her memoir. First Ladies are required to uphold the image of a fashion icon, but they have to pay out of pocket to keep their designer gowns, unless they choose to donate them after one wear. First Lady Michelle Obama was often given clothes by designers as a donation to wear for government events, but following the event in which they were worn they were given to the National Archives to keep. Controversy erupted when First Lady Nancy Reagan kept designer gowns without paying for them. Some were eventually donated to museums, but she still continued to accept them for the length of the Reagan administration.