Special
Report

Inauguration of Barack Obama

Complete Coverage

50 Years of Inaugural Gowns

From Jackie Kennedy to Laura Bush, look back at what the first ladies have worn on their big nights – and what Michelle Obama has to live up to!
By Melissa Liebling-Goldberg

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ROSALYNN CARTER

In keeping with the thrifty feeling of a country facing an economic slump in 1977, the 49-year-old (with daughter Amy, 9) repurposed a Mary Matise for Jimmae gold embroidered coat over a blue chiffon gown – the same one she had worn to husband Jimmy Carter's gubernatorial inauguration.