Avoid Dress Double Jeopardy

The embarrassment of arriving at an inaugural ball only to find another woman wearing the same outfit can be avoided thanks to a new website. Dressregistry.com lets inaugural guests log their dress color, length, designer, neckline, and other characteristics so no two women arrive at a party in the same outfit. The site’s founder, Andrew Jones, got the idea after Laura Bush’s “Oh, no!” moment at the 2006 Kennedy Center Honors, when she was one of four women wearing the same red Oscar de la Renta gown. “If it could happen to the First Lady, it could happen to anyone,” Jones said. “With the inauguration, it just all came together in my mind. I thought it would be a great time to roll it out.” So far, inaugural partygoers have registered 100 gowns for more than two dozen events, including the Constitution Ball, the American Indian Inaugural Ball, and the Green Inaugural Ball hosted by Al Gore.