Who is the best dressed First Lady on Inauguration Day? Well, we’re about to find out...

The best-dressed First Ladies according to fashion lovers are revealed - do you agree?

St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. 3rd Nov, 2020. Dr. Jill Biden speaks to reporters during a campaign stop at the Thomas ''Jet'' Jackson Recreation Center, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020 in St. Petersburg
(Image credit: Credit: Martha Asencio Rhine/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Wire/Alamy Live News)

The question of who is the best dressed First Lady is one that is sure to divide the crowd as everyone’s individual tastes come into play. But whether you prefer keeping it simple with neutral tones and classic shapes or seeking out the best sustainable fashion brands, there’s sure to have been an American First Lady whose style you admire. And it’s clear that what the First Lady wears on Inauguration Day helps to make a statement leading into the next four years. 

Dr. Jill Biden’s beautiful outfit for President Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day yesterday was stunning. She’s certainly started off her time as First Lady very fashionably, but when it comes to her predecessors, who is considered the best dressed? 

Now it seems OnBuy Clothes Department has done the work for us as their recent survey has looked into exactly who fashion lovers consider to be the best dressed First Lady on Inauguration Day. 

Taking into account the last fifteen First Ladies that came before the new First Lady, Dr. Biden, there’s a lot of outfits we can’t wait to be reminded of.

But do you agree with the winner?

Who is the best dressed First Lady on Inauguration Day?

According to fashion lovers, the best dressed First Lady is none other than Michelle Obama, securing 64% of the votes. Her first inauguration gown designed by Jason Wu was a beautiful white silk chiffon gown that Michelle looked majestic in. Perhaps an unsurprising win for this outfit here!

U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle dance at the Southern Regional Inaugural Ball in Washington, January 20, 2009

(Image credit: REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES) via Alamy)

Who else was in the top 5 of best dressed First Ladies?

Hillary Clinton emerged as the second best dressed First Lady with 55% of votes. She appeared in 1993 in a vibrant violet gown that was heavily beaded - a wonderfully memorable choice. 

Pres. Bill & Hillary Rodham Clinton joining hands, about to begin dancing, onstage at Kennedy Ctr. inaugural ball

(Image credit: Photo by Diana Walker//The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images)

Placing third is none other than Jackie Kennedy, a true fashion icon. Her choice of clothing never failed to impress and she achieved 41% of the votes for her inaugural gown from 1961.

Her dress was an off-white sleeveless silk chiffon gown and the bodice under the chiffon overlay was embroidered with silver threads.

Who wasn’t considered the best dressed according to fashion lovers?

Whilst there were some undoubtedly wonderful outfits that those surveyed clearly loved, it seems that not every First Lady’s Inauguration Day outfit was quite as popular. Lou Hoover, who served as First Lady from 1929-1933 only secured 7% of votes, followed by Barbara Bush with 5%. 

And it was Elizabeth Truman, First Lady from 1945-1953, who unfortunately came out lowest in the survey, with no votes cast in her favor by fashion-savvy respondents.

But do you agree with the results?

Emma Shacklock

Emma is a Senior Lifestyle Writer with five years experience working in digital publishing, ranging from book publishing to magazines. She currently looks after all things Lifestyle for Woman&Home, GoodToKnow and My Imperfect Life.


Before she joined Future Publishing, Emma graduated from the University of Warwick with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Comparative Literary Studies. After leaving education, she started out her publishing career in the world of books, working as a Publisher for an independent digital publisher specializing in back-list and debut commercial fiction novels. With a huge book list and a passion for bringing the best stories to the broadest audience possible, Emma filled her spare time with reading the latest best-sellers and catching up on hit adaptations.


In 2017 she joined TI Media as a fiction writing coordinator on Woman’s Weekly and Woman’s Weekly Fiction as part of the features team. From here, she used her love of books, working to bring short stories to our dedicated readers and began writing for the books pages of Woman, Woman’s Own and Woman&Home, as well as online features ranging from genre round-ups to travel pieces for womanandhome.com.


After honing her skills, Emma branched out online in 2020 when Future gave her the opportunity to focus on digital-first. When she’s not writing about the next big lifestyle trend, she enjoys cooking, long walks and watching as many crime dramas as she can!