Nancy Reagan brought an unabashed zeal for luxury to Washington

NEW YORK -- Just like her signature color -- a bold red, of course -- there was nothing shy or retiring about Nancy Reagan's approach to style and fashion.

For better or for worse, depending on whether you were a fan, she brought with her to the White House an unabashed penchant for luxury and high fashion, epitomized by her 1981 inaugural gown by John Galanos -- a sparkling, crystal-laden, one-shouldered white sheath.

That sheath is displayed at the Smithsonian Institution, not far from the one-shouldered inaugural gown of another fashion-conscious first lady -- Michelle Obama, noted Lisa Kathleen Graddy, curator at the National Museum of American History.

"Nancy Reagan had a very clear sense of style," Graddy said.

"She enjoyed fashion, and she believed it was part of her job to promote American fashion. She knew she was looked to, to see what she was wearing and who she was wearing. She felt this was a very public and often formal position, and so one dressed accordingly."

Fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, left, and journalist Barbara Walters, right, pose with first lady Nancy Reagan Jan. 10, 1989, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where the first lady was awarded the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to fashion.Ed Bailey ~ Associated Press

Often, that meant opulent creations from Oscar de la Renta, for example, or the California-based Galanos.

She also favored Bill Blass.

But it wasn't just her own style the first lady was interested in, Graddy notes.

"She believed in making a certain look for the White House," Graddy said. "She had a definite vision of how the White House and the presidency should present themselves, and (also) the United States, on an international level."

Not surprisingly, one of the exhibit sections in "The First Ladies at the Smithsonian" that features Mrs. Reagan is titled "Fashionable First Ladies."

In this Jan. 21, 1985, file photo, President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan arrive at the inaugural ball in the Washington Hilton in Washington. Nancy Reagan died Sunday, March 6, at age 94. (AP Photo/Ira Schwarz, File)

Her outfit isn't red, but many of her famous photos feature her in that hue.

"Let's have a little respect for the woman who somehow managed to co-opt an entire color," said actress Alison Fraser, who played the first lady in the recent off-Broadway musical "First Daughter Suite," at the Public Theater.

Mrs. Reagan's taste for luxury got her into trouble.

Along with her efforts to spruce up the White House and upgrade its china with funds from a private foundation, her fancy clothes earned her an unwanted nickname, "Queen Nancy."

She was stung by criticism of her expensive tastes, said Carl Anthony, historian at the National First Ladies' Library and a former speechwriter for the first lady.

In this March 31, 1987, file photo, President Ronald Reagan, right, and first lady Nancy Reagan, second left, pose for photographs with French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac, second right, and his wife Bernadette before a State Dinner at the White House in Washington. Nancy Reagan died Sunday, March 6, at age 94. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)

"I think she was bewildered by it," he said.

"All those years in Sacramento (California, as a governor's wife), and nobody ever critiqued her clothing. She thought she was prepared, that the transition wouldn't be so hard. Here she goes to the nation's capital, and ... her personal taste becomes an issue of debate. She was shocked by it."

Anthony said he doesn't think the first lady "fully grasped what it was saying to exhibit that kind of luxury when there was a homeless crisis and joblessness."

"She thought she was doing a good thing by improving the status of the White House," Anthony said.

"She thought people wanted the best for the White House. But she learned that even the most personal sorts of decisions carry the potential for political liability."

In this Dec. 9, 1987, file photo, President Ronald Reagan, right, and his wife, first lady Nancy Reagan, second left, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, second right, and his wife Raisa, pose as they arrive at the White House for a State Dinner in Washington. Nancy Reagan died Sunday, March 6, at age 94. (AP Photo/Scott Stewart, File)