I'm sure the designer has some kind of lame excuse for this occurrence, but for $8,500 a woman should have some peace of mind that this kind of social faux pas does not occur again, cuz what use is she First Lady if she can't get a one-of-a-kind dress !
Actually Laura Bush is very humble and doesn't want to be extravagant, so she doesn't live beyond her means. Gee, wouldn't we all wish that our Filipino politicians wives and girlfriends stop buying P75,000 shirts at Escada and St. John botiques...I mean if Laura Bush can buy off the racks, then Mrs. Congresman and Mrs. Senators should take the hint to cut back on high fashion, and those who patronize the local designers here locally must be assured no one has the same outfit at a big event!
Laura Bush Among Four Ladies In Red
First Lady, Three Others Wear Same Dress For Kennedy Center Honors
(CBS) Every woman who's ever attended a formal party has had the same concern: What if someone else shows up in the same dress?
As CBS News correspondent Thalia Assuras reports, that's exactly what happened to first lady Laura Bush at Sunday's Kennedy Center Honors, always one of Washington's biggest nights for stars, and glamorous fashion.
With guests in the spotlight at the exclusive White House receptions that go with the ceremony, the designer gowns are always scrutinized.
And on Sunday, four women at the reception wore the exact same $8,500 Oscar de la Renta dress, Mrs. Bush among them.
Letitia Baldridge, Jacqueline Kennedy's chief of staff and White House social secretary, says the gown was beautiful, but oh, what a faux pas!
"They all should have congratulated one another on their good taste and the fact that they could afford the dress. … Jacqueline Kennedy, when she was first lady, made sure, and her couturiers made sure, that nobody else wore that dress that season."