Preparing the gowns for the Smithsonian First Ladies Exhibit (video)

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History this week takes a stroll through formal fashion history with a short video documenting the process of setting up the museum's first ladies exhibition, which on Tuesday acquired first lady Michelle Obama's white inaugural gown.

Curator of the first ladies collection Lisa Kathleen Graddy and costume conservator Sunae Park Evans both talk about their work in the video, as well as the first ladies and other "mistresses of the White House" (such as daughters or daughters-in-laws) whose dresses the museum has been collecting and preserving for posterity since 1912.