Figure 1.--.

The clothing worn by presidents as children and the clothing worn by their children are a good reflection of contemporary children's clothing. America of course has no royal family to help set fashion standards as was the case in Europe. The American president and his family have in part played this role. Thus a review of the American presidents provide glimpses on popular children's fashions of the day. In addition, the clothing of the presidents themselves provide additional glimpses. Very limited information is available on the childhood of many 18th Century presidents, especially the childhood of presidents like Abraham Lincoln that grew up in modest ircumstances. Much more is known about the 20th Century presidents and this will almost certainly be the case for 21st Century presidents.

There are of course not yet any 21st Century presidents, but HBC is gearing up for the new millenium. The first 21st Century president will be elected in November 2000. At this time it looks like the candidates will be Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George Bush, the son of president George Bush. As it now stands it looks like Governor Bush will easily beat he Vice President. This is in part due to the Clinton scandals. The voters did not want Clinton impeached, but they were clearly unhappy with his behavior and the Vive President will probably suffer in consequence even though he has an exempliry family life. Perhaps even more important is the simple, but often undiscussed fact that American elections are generally not settled on ideologyy or issues, but rather personality. The Governor is a much more personable candidate whose personality resonates well on television.

George W. Bush: At this time, the most likely candidate to win the 2000 election is Texas Governor George W. Bush, son of the former president.