ADULTLIKE?:

All grown up and places to go (Chicago Sun Times, January 13, 2005)

The Bush twins are approaching their father's inauguration next week with a new sophistication.

And to do so, they will have nothing but the finest fashions to wear.

Call it the "Manolo Blahnik" factor -- a result of fashion becoming prominent in popular shows like HBO's "Sex and the City" and Fox's "The OC." What the Bush girls are wearing is just as important to their generation as where they are going.

This sketch from Badgley Mischka, shows the design of Barbara Bush's gown for her father, President Bush's, Jan. 20 inaugural ball. Designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka created an created a pale aquamarine silk chiffon gown with jeweled straps and a ruffle-seamed skirt. (AP)

This sketch from Badgley Mischka, shows the design of Jenna Bush's gown for her father, President Bush's, Jan. 20 inaugural ball. Designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka created an emerald silk crepe gown with metallic leather details and jeweled insets. The also designed her sister, Barbara's gown. (AP)

"The girls are news,'' said Gina Pia Bandini, editor of the online fashion magazine FashionFinds.com. Their fashion choices "are a draw to get people under 40 interested in the whole thing," she said. "It's a smart way to tap into the MTV crowd."

And they have a host of events for which to dress. White House spokeswoman Rachel Sunbarger said that both girls are engaged in a string of official events that begins Tuesday with a youth concert and ends Friday with a prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral.

Barbara, who graduated from Yale in the spring, is director for Tuesday evening's "Inaugural Youth Concert" and helped arrange for pop stars Hilary Duff and JoJo to entertain.

Wednesday afternoon, both Jenna and Barbara will be home for a family lunch at the White House before the bunch leaves to attend a series of candlelight dinners for big donors and the Texas State Society's "Black Tie and Boots" inaugural ball. On the 20th, Inauguration Day, the girls will accompany their father to the swearing-in and parade, then go to the official Texas-Wyoming state inaugural ball that evening. Then the real partying begins, with a swank after-hours reception at the Georgetown nightclub H20.

With all this adultlike partying comes an adult wardrobe, as sketches of the designs released this week reveal. Not since the days of young, fashion-minded socialite Alice Roosevelt, who inspired her own "Alice Blue," have the president's daughters made more of an impact.

In this at least, one doesn't envy their Dad.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 13, 2005 8:32 AM