Laura Bush Chooses de la Renta

Perhaps the most important fashion choice that a first lady can make is the dress worn at the Presidential inauguration -and Laura Bush has made up her mind. After weeks of speculation, Mrs. Bush has settled on an ice blue Oscar de la Renta gown with a matching cashmere coat, which she will wear as the centerpiece of the inauguration festivities, including balls, dinners and parties along with the ceremony, on January 20.

The tulle dress is embellished with beading and Australian crystals, harkening back to the more glamorous outfits of Nancy Reagan and Jackie Kennedy. It is aa far cry from her matronly inauguration dress four years ago.

Catherine Allgor, a historian of first lady style told the New York Times, "[Laura Bush] has gone from being just folksy to being a bit imperial, assuming a bit more of a queenly role [by choosing the de la Renta gown]."

The Bush twins also decided to employ famous fashion designers to outfit them for the inauguration events. Their choices include Badgley Mischka, Lela Rose, Derek Lam and de la Renta.

Mrs. Bush has also called upon Carolina Herrera and Peggy Jennings, a smaller designer who has been dressing Mrs. Bush for the past two years, to dress her for more than ten other events surrounding the ceremony.