When it comes to presidential style, most Americans are more likely to remember the iconic pillbox hats of Jacqueline Kennedy or the bold colors of Michelle Obama than the wardrobe choices of the men who actually sat behind the Resolute Desk. Yet, a new virtual exhibit unveiled this week by the White House Historical Association is challenging that narrative—inviting visitors to consider how America’s presidents have used fashion to shape their public image and leadership legacy.
Launched on September 20, 2025, the online exhibit, "Suited to Lead: The Lives of Six Presidents Through Fashion," spotlights six U.S. presidents: George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Harry S. Truman, Theodore Roosevelt, and Jimmy Carter. According to the White House Historical Association, the exhibit explores how each of these leaders used clothing to make statements about themselves and their governance, offering a fresh perspective on the intersection of power, personality, and public perception.
"The presidents were so much more interested in dress and fashion than we might typically think," said Fiona Hubbard, the exhibit’s curator and a New York University student specializing in costume studies, in an interview with NPR. Hubbard, who interned at the association, emphasized that each president featured in the exhibit had a unique approach to dress, leaving a distinct mark on presidential style. "They all had a really unique approach to how they dressed and all of them really impacted or left their own mark in dress in a way that you can see through the objects that are in the exhibit," she explained.
Take George Washington, for example. As the first president and a central figure in the Revolutionary War, Washington was acutely aware of the symbolism embedded in his wardrobe. According to the exhibit, he deliberately chose homespun fabrics—textiles made in America from American materials—as a visual break from the British rulers the colonies had just overthrown. Hubbard noted, "The British army wore red coats, and to situate themselves as opposed to British rule, George Washington commanded the Continental Army to wear blue coats." This sartorial choice, she explained, was about being American, looking American, and dressing American. It sent a message to both supporters and adversaries that a new national identity was being forged—not just on the battlefield, but in everyday life as well.
The exhibit brings this era to life with historical artwork, including John Trumbull’s famous painting of the British surrender at Yorktown. The scene, which marks the end of the Revolutionary War, shows defeated British troops marching between American and French forces, with General George Washington leading the Americans. At the center, Major General Benjamin Lincoln accepts the official surrender from General Lord Cornwallis’s deputy. The vivid imagery underscores how visual cues—including uniforms and clothing—played a role in shaping perceptions of leadership and victory.
Fast-forward nearly two centuries, and the power of presidential fashion to send a message is just as apparent. Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer from Georgia who became president in the late 1970s, famously donned a cardigan sweater during a televised address from the White House. The move was more than a personal preference for cozy knits. As Hubbard recounted, Carter used the image to encourage Americans to lower their thermostats and conserve energy—an urgent issue during his administration. "When he was elected president, only a few weeks later, he was on television, and he was in the White House wearing a cardigan, and that was a huge topic of conversation," said Hubbard. The cardigan itself became a symbol of Carter’s down-to-earth persona and his commitment to practical solutions during a time of national challenge.
Even the fashion world took note. "Even designers commented on it, and they were talking about how men should and can dress in American society, which was becoming more casual at the time," Hubbard said. Carter’s sartorial choices reflected broader shifts in American culture, as the country moved toward a more relaxed and informal style in both fashion and public life. His cardigan—now displayed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History—remains a tangible reminder of how clothing can be used to communicate values and priorities from the highest office in the land.
Presidential fashion, it turns out, has always been about more than just aesthetics. Fashion historian Summer Anne Lee, an adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, told NPR that the exhibit highlights how presidents have expressed their personalities through their attire, while also responding to broader societal changes. "We have to keep in mind that the presidency … has, up until this point, always been occupied by men and in large part by older men, and so a person in that job is expected to dress quite seriously, is expected to dress quite formally and quite traditionally," Lee observed. Yet, as Lee points out, the exhibit also spotlights moments when these expectations were challenged.
One such moment came in the 1820s, when John Quincy Adams made the switch from traditional knee breeches to pantaloons, or long trousers. According to Lee, this was a controversial move at the time: "Everyday, average Americans had been wearing these pantaloons for quite some time—even a few decades at that point. But the presidency was meant to be this, almost frozen-in-time kind of George Washington-esque position. So it was controversial for him to adopt that clothing, but at the same time, it made him more relatable to everyday Americans." Adams’s choice helped bridge the gap between the presidency and the public, using fashion as a tool for connection and relatability.
Abraham Lincoln, too, understood the importance of a signature look. The exhibit features an iconic glass plate collodion negative photograph of Lincoln taken on February 24, 1861, just days before his inauguration. In the image, Lincoln wears the black frock coat, matching waistcoat and trousers, narrow black cravat, and polished black leather shoes that would become synonymous with his presidency. His stovepipe hat, resting on the table beside him, completed the ensemble—a look that, according to the White House Historical Association, would become "his most recognizable look." Lincoln’s deliberate shift from workwear to this formal attire was not just a matter of personal taste; it was a calculated move to project authority and stability in a nation on the brink of civil war.
The evolution of presidential fashion did not happen in a vacuum. As technology advanced, so did the stakes. Lee noted that the advent of photography—and later, television—made visual presentation increasingly important for presidents and candidates alike. "We get so many more televised appearances ever since that 1960 debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, where Nixon was not looking so good on camera, even if he looked OK in person," Lee said. "No presidential candidate was ever able to forget how important it was how they appeared on television. And today we have social media, so I think it's on the forefront of every candidate's mind to try to appeal to the masses and look more relatable."
Ultimately, "Suited to Lead" serves as a reminder that the clothes worn by America’s leaders are more than just fabric and thread. They are tools of communication, instruments of change, and sometimes, even acts of quiet rebellion. For anyone curious about the hidden language of presidential fashion, this exhibit offers a fascinating—and timely—window into the lives and legacies of the men who have shaped the nation, one outfit at a time.
