The first lady – no matter who is in the role – is a source of endless fascination. Though not an elected official, she’s fair game for scrutiny. She’s expected to do some good, but really, if at all possible, it would be quite nice if she also looked good while she’s doing it.

Today, the New-York Historical Society opens two concurrent exhibits that take a look at both sides of this most peculiar position. “First Ladies: Political Role and Public Image” is a traveling exhibit created by the Smithsonian Institution that pairs what the women did with what they wore. The Historical Society has added a New York element by creating a smaller, additional exhibit – “First Ladies of New York and the Nation” – that focuses on Eleanor Roosevelt and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

While the Smithsonian’s plaques about the first ladies’ good deeds are educative, the dazzling clothing teaches us something else: that first ladies have more to their wardrobes than floor-length couture gowns.

In 1972, when the Nixons traveled to Liberia, Pat Nixon was given traditional African garb to wear to the inauguration of that country’s president. Her two-piece tie-dyed ensemble with wide embroidery at the trim is included here, as is Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s 1961 embroidered sheath dress with matching jacket by Oleg Cassini. With its short length and body-hugging shape, it gives a sense of just how very chic she was – and how her fresh style ushered in a modern sense of the White House.

But if there’s one dress that suggests that there was some fun to be had at the White House, it’s the loose flapper dress worn by Grace Coolidge. The drop-waist beaded metallic lace dress has an under layer of light gold lame. For 19th-century glamour, Frances Cleveland – who became first lady at age 21 – steals the show. Her full-skirted gown of iridescent, patterned silk is trimmed at the hem with fur. An outer layer of the dress, in black silk, is gathered at the sides by small fabric rosettes.

Of course, there are accessories, too. A long necklace of faceted amber beads that belonged to Martha Washington looks perfectly au courant. Mamie Eisenhower’s inaugural jewelry and her original Judith Leiber bag are on display. There are also replicas of Judith Leiber bags worn by Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush. And speaking of Mrs. Clinton, the exhibit ends on a modern-woman note with one of her simple black pantsuits.

The Historical Society’s exhibit pays closer attention to the lives and work of Roosevelt and Onassis. The Chapin School report cards of the young Jacqueline Bouvier are shown here, as are photos of her working on behalf of historic preservation in Manhattan. Though there are numerous photos of Roosevelt’s activism, it is her creation of Val-Kill Industries that is less familiar and fascinating. During stays at her rural retreat at Hyde Park, Roosevelt was impressed with the skills of the furniture makers and craftsmen of the Val-Kill area. She and two friends started Val-Kill Industries to promote them and their work. Catalogs and examples of their crafts are on view. But the most affecting portion of this exhibit is the exchange of letters between Roosevelt and Onassis (then Kennedy). And though this exhibit is not about fashion, it does have one gown that Jackie wore to a gala for one of her favorite causes: American Ballet Theatre. The dress, by Carolina Herrera, is clearly of the 1990s, but it succinctly illustrates the ability to look good and do good at the same time.