These epaulets were worn by future president George Washington to demonstrate his status in the military. They are made of gold bullion-thread tassels with gilt sequins and twisted bullion bows intermixed. They also have a strap of metallic yarn and a buff wool lining. Epaulets like these served as visual symbols of military rank, indicating order and authority within the Continental Army. For Washington, these decorative shoulder pieces were just one feature of military dress within a system of uniform regulations designed to project professionalism. These epaulets can be seen in portraits painted by American artist Charles Wilson Peale between 1779 and 1780. Washington served as the commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He served as president from April 30, 1789 until March 4, 1797.

This silk cravat was owned by President Abraham Lincoln. A cravat is a band of cloth worn around the neck. President Lincoln's cravat was pre-tied and fastened at the back. The bow was also intentionally sewn on crooked, since Lincoln preferred to wear it slightly off-center. This preference could be due to Lincoln's favoring an early 1850s trend in neckwear, when neckties became thinner and were tied asymmetrically with one side of the bow extended.

This article is about the Inauguration of President John Quincy Adams and was published in Niles' Weekly Register on March 12, 1825. The article describes the events of the Inauguration and Adams's outfit which was a "plain suit of black". John Quincy Adams was the son of President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams. Prior to his presidency, President Adams was a diplomat to the Netherlands, Prussia, Russia, and the United Kingdom. He served as Secretary of State under President James Monroe and is the only president who went on to serve in the United States House of Representatives after being president. Adams represented his home state, Massachusetts, in the House.

This postcard studio portrait photo of Harry S. Truman wearing his uniform and helmet was taken in France during World War I. Noted on the reverse of the postcard: "Given to John A. Hatfield in France in 1918 - returned to Harry S. Truman in January, 1962." Truman enlisted for service with the National Guard in 1905. During World War I, Truman served as a captain in the Field Artillery, wearing the standard olive drab, M1910 service uniform: breeches that flared out at the thigh, a single-breasted coat with four front pockets, tall lace-up boots, and a helmet. As vice president, Truman became president when President Franklin D. Roosevelt died during his fourth term in office in 1945. He was elected president in his own right during the 1948 election, serving from January 20, 1949 to January 20, 1953. During his second term, Truman was the target of an assassination attempt while living in Blair House during a major White House renovation. He served in the Senate prior to his years in the White House.

In this photograph, future president Theodore Roosevelt poses in a mountaineering outfit, representing his growing interest in outdoorsmanship. He posed for this photograph in 1881, around the time of his honeymoon to his first wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt. A former governor of New York, Roosevelt became president upon the assassination of William McKinley on September 14, 1901, and served until March 4, 1909.

This photograph from circa 1920 is of future president Harry S. Truman (at left) in the clothing store he and owned with Edward Jacobson. Pictured in the photo, from left to right, alongside Truman are: Francis Berry, Mike Flynn, and Kelsey Cravens. After returning from World War I, Truman opened a haberdashery in Kansas City with his friend Jacobson, with whom he served in the United States Army. Located at 104 West 12th Street, Truman and Jacobson sold men’s shirts, ties, and other furnishings. Though the business ultimately failed, his time in the shop created friendships that played important roles later in his life, such as his long-time tailor, Sol Stolowy. Truman served in the United States Senate prior to his years in the White House. As vice president during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's fourth term, Truman became president upon Roosevelt's death in office in 1945. He was elected president in his own right during the 1948 election, serving from January 20, 1949 to January 20, 1953. During his second term, Truman was the target of an assassination attempt while living in Blair House during a major White House renovation.

This is a wool dress coat paired with matching trousers from circa 1830-1840. The 1820s brought significant changes to menswear, including the decline of breeches and the rise of trousers. By the late 1820s, trousers became standard for men’s daywear. President John Quincy Adams was the first president to wear long trousers at his Inauguration, where he was described as wearing a “plain suit of black.” This image shows what the suit he wore to his Inauguration may have looked like. This style of dress coat features puffed shoulders, and a nipped-in and straight-cut waistline, with narrowly fitted matching trousers. This kind of suit was worn for formal occasions, and was well-suited for his Inaugural Address. This suit is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This blue wool coat is part of a suit of regimentals made for President George Washington in 1789. It has a buff wool rise-and-fall collar, buff cuffs and lapels, and buff lining; there is a row of yellow metal buttons on each lapel, as well as on each cuff. The waistcoat and breeches are matching buff wool, with gilt buttons. This uniform was worn by President Washington from 1789 until his death in 1799. The small clothes, or breeches and waistcoat, date from the revolutionary period. Washington often posed for life portraits during this period, and was often depicted wearing this uniform. None of his uniforms from the Revolutionary War period are known to have survived. As the leader of the Continental Army, Washington wanted troops to present themselves as a professional military organization, and a proper uniform was one way of showing a unified front. In commemoration of Washington’s attention to detail, the colors of blue and buff remained the accepted pattern for United States Army uniforms until the beginning of the Civil War. Washington served as the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He served as president from April 30, 1789 until March 4, 1797.

This portrait photograph of Liliʻuokalani, Queen of Hawai'i, was taken circa 1891, around the time of the beginning of her reign. Liliʻuokalani was the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Hawai'i before it was overthrown by the United States on January 17, 1893. She was the sister of Kalākaua, King of Hawai'i, who was the first head of state to be honored with a formal State Dinner, held in 1874 and hosted by President Ulysses S. Grant and First Lady Julia Dent Grant at the White House. Liliʻuokalani herself would visit the White House on numerous occasions.

This photograph was taken at a ceremony held on the South Lawn of the White House in honor of the freed American hostages who were held in Iran. The ceremony, held on January 27, 1981, included a speech by President Ronald Reagan, who was just seven days into his first administration. 66 United States citizens, diplomats, and military personnel were held in the U.S. embassy in Tehran beginning on November 4, 1979 and lasting for 444 days. On January 20, 1981, the remaining 52 hostages still in captivity were finally released.

This portrait photograph of future president Jimmy Carter was taken during his time in the United States Navy. Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. He began his military career as an ensign on a submarine and rose to the rank of lieutenant in 1952 before resigning from the Navy upon the death of his father in 1953. The inscription in the bottom right corner is written to Carter's wife and future first lady Rosalynn Carter. It reads, "Darling, I love you with all my heart - for all my life. Jimmy".

This photograph of Lynda Johnson and Capt. Charles S. Robb cutting their wedding cake was taken on December 9, 1967 in the East Room. Per Marine Corps tradition, the couple uses a saber to cut through the five-layer cake, as they become the 15th couple to be married in the White House. Immediately following the cake-cutting ceremony, the couple performed their first dance.

This is a photograph of President Jimmy Carter clasping hands with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the signing of the Egypt-Israeli Peace Treaty on the North Lawn, March 26, 1979.

This photograph of President Jimmy Carter was taken on October 7, 1977. President Carter is captured holding his grandson, Jason Carter, in the Rose Garden just outside the Oval Office. Jason, the son of Carter's eldest son, Jack, was two years old when this photograph was taken.

This photograph is of the Carter family rafting down the Salmon River in Idaho on August 23, 1978. In the raft are President Jimmy Carter (standing at left), First Lady Rosalynn Carter (seated, left, with sunglasses), and daughter Amy (seated at left in the front). The family rafted the Middle Fork of the Salmon River as part of a vacation out west that also included a stay in Wyoming and the Grand Tetons.

This photograph of President Jimmy Carter was taken on April 11, 1977. President Carter is captured holding his grandson, Jason Carter, on his shoulders at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House Grounds. Carter and his grandson are surrounded by a crowd of attendees and security. Jason, the son of Carter's eldest son, Jack, was around one and a half years old when this photograph was taken.

In this photograph taken on February 22, 1977, President Jimmy Carter and his daughter, Amy Carter, participate in a speed reading course in the Cabinet Room. During his time in office, President Carter took a night course -- along with Amy -- to learn how to speed read. Carter learned speed reading in order to keep on top of all the paperwork, memoranda, and correspondences that were required as a part of his responsibilities as President of the United States. The Cabinet Room is located in the West Wing of the White House.

This is an undated photograph of future president Jimmy Carter. In this photograph, Carter poses alongside his siblings and mother. From left to right are: his sister Ruth Carter Stapleton, Jimmy Carter, mother Lillian Carter, his brother Billy Carter, and his sister Gloria Carter Spann.

This photograph of young, future president Jimmy Carter at Forestry Camp was taken circa 1939. Carter spent his early years on a Georgia farm during the Great Depression, in a home that did not have electricity until 1938. Carter described his childhood lifestyle as closer to the farm life of 20,000 years ago than modern farming of the day. Clothing was more a matter of necessity and survival than a fashion statement: for boys like Carter, this meant practical, durable clothing that was suitable for long days of work on the farm. Here, he looks to be wearing denim pants and a sturdy leather belt.

In this photograph, President Jimmy Carter lights a menorah in celebration of Hanukkah on December 17, 1979. This was the first lighting of the National Menorah, and took place in Lafayette Park, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. President Carter, in dressed in a tuxedo for a State Dinner held in honor of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain, put on an overcoat and walked across the street to the ceremony, which featured a small crowd of a few dozen. The lighting of the National Menorah historically takes place on the Ellipse and is overseen by a politician of the Jewish faith.

In this photograph, First Lady Rosalynn Carter chairs a hearing on mental health on January 17, 1978. Mrs. Carter was appointed the honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health by her husband, President Jimmy Carter, in 1977. During her time in the White House, Mrs. Carter dedicated her time focusing on the issues surrounding mental health, childhood immunization, and advocating for the Equal Rights Amendment, among many other initiatives.

In this photograph, First Lady Rosalynn Carter works in her East Wing office on March 17, 1977. Seated at her desk, Mrs. Carter is captured alongside her personal assistant, Madeline McBean. Mrs. Carter was credited with establishing the Office of the First Lady through the passing of the White House Personnel Authorization Act of 1978. Previously, there had been no formal allocation of staff and resources to support the work of the first lady.

This photograph of President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter was taken in the Blue Room of the White House on December 13, 1979. In the photograph, President and Mrs. Carter pose in front of the Blue Room Christmas Tree while attending a Christmas Party for the White House Press Corps.

In this photograph taken on June 5, 1946, future president Jimmy Carter has his ensign lapels pinned by Rosalynn Carter, left, then known by her maiden name Rosalynn Smith, and Lillian Carter, right, his mother, at his graduation ceremony from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Jimmy Carter would go on to serve in the Navy until 1956, when he took over his family's businesses including peanut farming. Carter served as governor of Georgia prior to his term as president, which began on January 20, 1977 and ended January 20, 1981.

This walnut, brass, and ivory medicine chest was taken from the White House during the fire of August 24, 1814 and given to President Franklin D. Roosevelt by a descendant of Thomas Kains, a British naval officer who was part of the party that burned the White House down during the Invasion of Washington during the War of 1812. Bruce White photographed the medicine chest opened in 2023. To see the chest closed, see asset ID 1137880.