Nancy Reagan in “I Love The 80s!”
You work with what you have, and Nancy Reagan apparently will live or die on 80s fashion. She’s taking her old dresses, borrowed, donated, and occasionally paid for, and putting them on display at the Reagan Library.
It’s a bold move. Under heavy flack in Reagan’s first term for accepting oodles of free [and not cheap] dresses, Nancy rounded on her critics by singing “Second Hand Rose” to DC establishment hacks at the Gridiron Club.
Result? Charmed press corps rushed to embrace “laughing at herself” narrative, controversy defused. And in some tellings the end of the story.
Former Clintonist Paul Begala joins in the warm glow:
“I never knew — don’t know her personally, but she did a great job as our first lady, and that’s — that was one — the Democrats should have left her off-limits. I’m proud to say, today, there are no Democrats attacking Laura Bush nor should there be. She’s a terrific first lady herself, so…”
But she kept taking free clothes!
Now we get to witness the “86-year old philanthropist’s wardrobe” when she puts what she’s kept on display. It presumably increasing their value as eventual donations for tax deductions, and gives one last bump to the free-bee dispensing designers she favored.