Collection Story
Lady Bird Johnson's Dresses
On Dec. 13, 1976, Lady Bird Johnson directed her Secret Service detail to drive her up to the back door of the LBJ Presidential Library. It was an unexpected visit to the museum, but Mrs. Johnson had a purpose for her visit. The back of her Lincoln Town Car was full of dresses she wished to donate to the Museum Collection. It seems Mrs. Johnson had cleaned out her closet and chosen more than two dozen dresses that she thought best represented her style when she was at the White House.
A Style All Her Own
On Dec. 13, 1976, Lady Bird Johnson directed her Secret Service detail to drive her to the back door of the LBJ Presidential Library. It was an unexpected visit, but Mrs. Johnson came with a purpose. The back of her Lincoln Town Car was full of dresses she wished to donate to the library's museum collection. It appeared that Mrs. Johnson had cleaned out her closet and had chosen more than two dozen dresses she thought best represented her style when she was at the White House.
Lady Bird Johnson was never known as a fashion icon. Her understated tastes never broke fashion barriers, but rather she maintained her modest Southern sensibilities during the commotion of the Sixties. From her yellow flower-accented ball gown to her casual jeans and boots, she infused her personality into her clothing choices.
Mollie Parnis
Mrs. Johnson chose to work with American designers as much as possible, including White House favorite Mollie Parnis, who also designed for First Ladies Mamie Eisenhower, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford. But, it was to the LBJ Library that Ms. Parnis chose to donate dozens of her original design drawings, accenting the dress collection from Mrs. Johnson even more.
Over time, library museum staff has painstakingly researched our internal audiovisual archives, documenting what events Mrs. Johnson wore each dress to and then connecting dresses from the Parnis drawings to their finished products in the collection. The research is ongoing.
Lady Bird Johnson Gold Formal Gown by Mollie Parnis
Red-orange sheath dress with matching jacket by Adele Simpson
Since Lady Bird's death in 2007, the library has not accepted any donations of clothing items that belonged to Lady Bird Johnson and instead has referred donors to the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. Museum staff intends to keep pure the clothing collection curated by Lady Bird Johnson herself.
