………………….On January 14th, 1986 I was invited to a black tie State Dinner at the White House….It was in honor of President Cordero of the Republic of Ecuardor…..I had known Betsy Bloomingdale who was best friends with Nancy Reagan. Nancy was introduced to the Anne Klein Collection through Betsy, and they were both customers. I was thrilled to get this invitation and had great anticipation of what the evening would be like……Jac and I went to Washington DC and stayed across the street from the White House at the beautiful Blair House Hotel. The view of the White house from our room war beautiful!…. Unfortunately, Jac wasn’t invited to the events because we weren’t married, and they didn’t invite someone’s fiance or “girlfriend”…….so I had to tell Jac in great detail everything that happened……I was also invited in the late morning to the White House to greet the President of Ecuador. If memory serves there were about 40 or 50 people there. I had hired a limo for the day so it took me to the White house where I had to go through the gates and be checked in. Then I was greeted at the front door and escorted to a large room on the main floor called the “China Room”, where coffee was served. It was January and it was very cold. Snow was predicted! The group was led out through the back doors of the W.H to the back lawn at the appropriate time, and stood behind velvet ropes. I remember walking out behind Doris Duke, the billionaire tobacco heiress. She was friends with Nancy Reagan……I really had to restrain myself from laughing, because she was wearing a cheetah coat with a hood She was wearing the hood up, and the hood still had the ears sticking up!……We stood outside in the cold until the helicopter arrived, landed and the President came out to greet the President of Ecuador……When the men went inside we were again escorted inside for more coffee and then escorted out of the White House…..The entire event was very coordinated from the time I entered the gates until I left…..Back to the hotel I went to give a full report to Jac. We spent the day at the Smithsonian Museum. You could spend a month there and still not see everything……We had lunch and then we went back to the hotel so I could rest and prepare for the evening ahead…….More on the State Dinner!