Unlike many First Ladies on this list, Betty Ford is remembered for her outspoken political involvement, in addition to her stylish, simplistic 70s wardrobe. She was clearly a courageous First Lady in speech and in dress. In her younger years, Betty Ford spent time as a dancer, fashion model, and a fashion coordinator for a department store. After divorcing her first husband, she married Gerald Ford right as his political career was picking up.
Shortly after he was elected president, Betty was diagnosed with breast cancer. A very seldom discussed topic at the time, she used her personal battle, including her mastectomy, to bring it to the public’s attention. She felt it was her duty to bring women’s health issues to public and political discussions, and she sparked a great deal of interest in the emerging women’s health movement in the 1970s (Gutin).
Breast cancer awareness was only the tip of the iceberg for Betty Ford’s outspoken messages. In addition, she called for her husband to appoint more women to government positions. There was actually a slight increase in women in the governmental sphere due to her influence. She was also incredibly supportive of the Equal Right Amendments, which set the stage for abortion rights. She even verbally supported Roe v. Wade, a move that was considered too bold for a First Lady by some.
She was once quoted as saying, “I do not believe that being First Lady should prevent me from expressing my views …Why should my husband’s job or yours prevent us from being ourselves? Being ladylike does not require silence” (Pous).
Throughout her short run as First Lady, Betty Ford was both praised and criticized for her candor. Ultimately, it was her fearless, go-getter attitude and style that made her so popular with the American people. She reshaped the ideals of a First Lady, pushing taboo subjects and women’s issues to the forefront of politics. She always dressed like a woman who deserved to be heard, and she set the stage for our modern, politically influential First Ladies.
An article in Time summarized Betty Ford’s influence on fashion and politics best:
“The former Martha Graham dancer and department store model had a forthright and confident fashion sense that embodied late-seventies mod during a time when it was easy to wear clothes that looked like couch covers. Her distinctive fashion style was marked by her colorful scarves and high-neck Chinese-style collars. Ford used her platform as more than a fashion statement. Though she was First Lady for a mere 29 months, she made haste in fervently supporting the women’s rights movement and popularizing breast cancer awareness in announcing her mastectomy. After Gerald Ford left office, she founded the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction. She was outspoken by nature and a fearless dresser by choice” (Pous).
The First Ladies of Fashion 