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Do’s and don’ts in first ladies’ frugal fashion

By WTOP Staff

NANCY BENAC
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sure, living in the White House has its perks. But a clothing allowance is not one of them.

First ladies feel all sorts of pressure to project a fashionable look, and over the decades they have tried a range of cash-saving strategies to pull it off without going broke.

Seven frugal do’s and don’ts that first ladies have tried over the years:

1. TROT OUT RETREADS: Even first ladies recycle their clothes. Michelle Obama recently welcomed military moms to a Mother’s Day tea wearing the same shirtdress she had worn to lunch with Katy Perry in 2012. Lady Bird Johnson put her 1965 inaugural gala gown, a white peau de soie dress with a beaded bodice, back in the rotation three times over the next two years.

2. BUY OFF THE RACK: Laura Bush experienced the “ultimate in clothing faux pas” when she selected an $8,500 red lace Oscar de la Renta gown to wear to the Kennedy Center Honors in 2006 without modifying the design. “In the book, that red dress had looked perfect. It vaguely crossed my mind that someone else might see the dress and think exactly the same thing,” Mrs. Bush wrote in her memoir, “but what were the odds of that woman wearing it to a White House party?” Pretty good, it turns out. Three other women turned up in the identical gown. They made the best of it by posing for a group photo at a White House reception. Then Mrs. Bush ran upstairs and changed into a navy blue dress from the back of her closet before heading to the Kennedy Center.

3. HUNT FOR BARGAINS: Betty Ford wasn’t afraid to economize. She shared clothes with her teenage daughter and used scarves to make the same outfit look different. When she read about low-cost designer Albert Capraro, whose dresses retailed for as little as $70, she asked the New Yorker to bring her some sketches. She ordered spring dresses from him and asked him to make some evening gowns using fabric that President Gerald Ford had brought back from Japan.

4. FIND A BENEFACTOR: When Jacqueline Kennedy caught criticism for wearing pricey French fashions, her father-in-law stepped in to defuse the issue. Joseph Kennedy offered to pay her wardrobe bills, if she used Oleg Cassini, a family friend, as her personal couturier. “Jacqueline Kennedy accepted this offer, a move that was greeted with some astonishment by Seventh Avenue, where Cassini was not regarded as a designer of the first rank and something of a vulgarian as well,” author Amanda Mackenzie Stuart wrote in a biography of Diana Vreeland.

5. BORROW STUFF: Nancy Reagan raised eyebrows by borrowing high-priced designer gowns and jewelry as first lady, sometimes without returning them or reporting them on her husband’s annual disclosure forms. When it came out that Mrs. Reagan had kept up the practice even after she had pledged to stop, her spokeswoman, Elaine Crispen, acknowledged that Mrs. Reagan “broke her little promise.” Mrs. Reagan said later: “I was just trying to help an industry that I could help and I was in the position to help. I didn’t see anything wrong with that.”

6. RAISE SOME CASH: Mary Todd Lincoln ran up $27,000 in bills for clothes and household items without her husband’s knowledge, roughly equivalent to $700,000 in modern times, and then badgered Republican politicians to pay up to “help me out of my embarrassment.” Some offered money or loans, but Mrs. Lincoln still came up short, according to historian Carl Anthony at the National First Ladies’ Library. “At one point, she even considered selling the manure on the White House lawn as fertilizer to pay the bills,” Anthony wrote in his history of first ladies.

7. TRY CREATIVE WRITING: Theodore Roosevelt’s wife, Edith, would wear the same dress to multiple events, Anthony says, but vary the descriptions in her press releases. In the days before video and 24/7 media coverage, that made it seem as if she had more clothes than she did.

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Associated Press News Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed from New York.

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Follow Nancy Benac on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nbenac

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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