More Facts ON American Presidents Quiz

Answer: Prince Albert

The frock coat is thought to have its origins in the Napoleonic wars of the early-nineteenth century as a means of officers staying warm during military campaigns. By the middle of the century it had so grown in popularity that it had become accepted formal morning (or daytime) dress ousting the previously fashionable dress coat to evening wear. Prince Albert's adoption of the coat further helped its acceptance on both sides of the Atlantic.

The coat's period in the fashion spotlight lasted until the end of the century but after that it was rarely worn outside of highly formal occasions. Lincoln's coat was supplied by the clothier chain Brooks Brothers which, having been founded in 1818, lays claim to being the oldest in America.

Answer: James Madison (1809 - 1817)

Although pants/trousers have a long history, breeches were in fashion from the sixteenth to the early nineteenth century. These came down from the waist to fasten at the knee with corresponding stockings covering the lower leg. The change from breeches to pants had its roots in the sans-culottes of the French working classes at the time of the French Revolution and spread to America via Britain. John Quincy Adams (1825 - 1829) was the first President to be inaugurated wearing long pants.

Answer: Walking sticks

The walking stick (or cane) originally developed as a weapon but by the eighteenth century had become a must have adornment for the fashionable man about town. This continued up to the First World War after which mass production and the needs of returning servicemen caused them to be seen as more functional than fashionable. This period, though, did see a style reversal as women began to carry canes for the first time and Wilson's daughter Nell was an early pioneer.

George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant were also noted cane users; Warren G. Harding made them and Andrew Jackson used his to see off a would be assassin.

Answer: A Panama hat

Roosevelt began wearing the hat whilst visiting Panama to inspect construction progress on the canal. This had an added newsworthiness as it was the first official international tour undertaken by an American president. He was photographed with Panama hat on head whilst at the canal and on his return, after which sales boomed.

It wasn't the first time, though, that Americans had encountered the hats. They were worn by Latin American prospectors attracted by the California Gold Rush and, in 1898, the US Military placed a large order to supply troops fighting in the Spanish-American war.

Answer: John F. Kennedy (1961 - 1963)

Kennedy was hardly ever seen wearing a hat as president and this accelerated a fashion trend that had begun in the 1950s. There is no single reason to explain it but a growing spirit of non-conformity and the more widespread use of automobiles are the most likely factors. Contrary to a popular misconception, Kennedy did wear a hat for his inauguration. Lyndon Johnson, therefore, became the first president to go without.

Answer: It became a symbol of staying warm whilst saving energy during an energy crisis.

Raise a glass to the men's cardigan sweater - rarely in fashion but never quite out of it. Like the frock coat, its origins lie on the battlefield as a type of sweater coat worn by soldiers under the command of James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, during the Crimean War. This was the same war that gave rise to another fashion garment, the Balaclava, and this was the same company of men that formed the unfortunate Light Brigade, immortalised in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem 'The Charge of the Light Brigade'.

Carter's cardigan was a brown one and marked a departure from previous presidents who had been suited when addressing the nation. The speech was delivered two weeks into his presidency, on the day that Congress passed the Emergency Natural Gas Act, and Carter urged the American people to turn down their thermostats. Such is the cardigan's notoriety that a replica can be seen at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum in Atlanta.

Answer: Dwight Eisenhower (1953 - 1961)

The polo shirt design was created by French tennis player Rene Lacoste and first worn by him at the 1926 US Open. He added a crocodile emblem to match the nickname given to him by American journalists. The shirt went on commercial sale after Lacoste's retirement in the 1930s and was rapidly embraced by polo players who appreciated a collar that wouldn't flap around in the wind. It was introduced to the American market in 1951 and photographs of Eisenhower wearing a Lacoste shirt to play golf helped it become successful. This was reinforced by Eisenhower's successor, JFK, adopting the shirt for both casual and sporting wear. Is it a polo shirt or a tennis shirt? Both terms are used but Ralph Lauren's inclusion of the shirt in his 1972 "Polo" range tipped the balance in favor of the former.

On a trivial side note, the January 2009 edition of "Golf Digest" ranked Eisenhower second among the golf playing presidents. He was behind JFK but ahead of George H. W. Bush (5th), Richard Nixon (13th) and Lyndon Johnson (14th).

Answer: Crocs

The shoe design now known as the croc was developed in the 1990s by a Canadian firm called Finproject NA. They are made not from rubber or plastic but from a 'foamable ethylene vinyl acetate' and were originally intended for use in spas. Three friends from Colorado liked the shoe and formed Crocs Inc. to distribute the shoes in America. Success was rapid and to such a degree that Crocs Inc. bought out the Canadian manufacturing plant and added more in Italy, China, Romania and Mexico. The rest, as they say, is history and the registered name "Croc" has become a catchall for a vast range of imitations, thereby joining the likes of Hoover and Thermos as a generic noun.

Press interest in George W. didn't just focus on his becoming the first croc wearing president but on his choosing to match them with socks!

Answer: Gerald Ford (1974 - 1977)

The first digital wristwatch to be launched on the American market was the Hamilton Watch Company's Pulsar in 1972. Hamilton's inspiration came from being asked by Stanley Kubrick to design a futuristic clock prop for use in "2001: A Space Odyssey". They very deliberately aimed the Pulsar at the luxury end of the market with an initial price tag of $2100, equivalent to the price of a small car. A prototype was demonstrated on the Johnny Carson show leading him to joke that "the watch will tell you the exact moment you went bankrupt!".

In an early example of product placement, the watch appeared in the 1973 James Bond movie "Live and Let Die". Ford's was given to him as a gift and he was first seen wearing it at a Cabinet Room meeting in December 1974. The original run of 400 watches at $2100 sold out quickly but within a decade, thanks to mass production and developing technology, the price of a digital wrist watch had shrunk to under $10!

Answer: Purple

Socks may seem a trivial part of a man's wardrobe but in a world of individuality and dressing down they are one of the few remaining barometers of fashion etiquette. The purple socks breached a traditional expectation that socks should match trousers and, if possible, shoes, with the added proviso that the more formal an occasion, the darker should be the socks.

George was placing himself in good company because purple clothing has long been associated with royalty, most notably Roman emperors, as well as bishops in the Orthodox, Catholic and Anglican traditions.