RED DRESSES MAKE A STRONG STATEMENT.

Byline: Sandra Barrera and Nancy Dillon

Staff Writers

Stunning red gowns worn by America's seven living first ladies, including one that first lady Laura Bush won't soon forget, are now on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum.

Red dresses have become a national symbol for heart disease awareness among women, and Quaker Oatmeal teamed with the Heart Truth campaign to mount the prestigious exhibit through Mother's Day.

Each dress has its own unique story, the organizers said.

The red Oscar de la Renta worn by first lady Laura Bush grabbed headlines when three other women wore the exact same $8,500 gown to the same formal even in Washington, D.C., last December.

Laura Bush graciously left the party halfway through to go upstairs and change, a reported first in the annals of White House fashion.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan also donated finery to the cause and made a special appearance to cut the red ribbon at a star-studded opening ceremony Friday morning. She then toured the exhibit on the arm of friend and TV host Larry King.

"This is a subject that's close to my own thankfully still beating heart," King, who founded the Larry King Cardiac Foundation for the needy after suffering a heart attack 20 years ago, told the Presidential Library crowd.

King said he was in Washington D.C., shortly before his attack interviewing C. Everett Coop, the Surgeon General of the United States during the Reagan administration.

"At the end of the interview, he looked at me and said, 'You OK?' " King recalled, adding that his own doctor talked him into visiting the hospital later that night.

"I'm smoking all the way to the hospital," King said as he began his funny yet serious tale about having a heart attack at George Washington University Hospital and six months later undergoing bypass surgery at the hands of a cardiologist with no right thumb.

"Larry, I cannot believe you smoked all the way to the hospital," TV host Mary Hart scolded after taking the podium to thank former first lady Nancy Reagan.

"Thank you for your graciousness in opening up the library so that we can do this," Hart said. "(We need to) raise awareness of the fact that heart disease kills more women than men and is the leading cause of death among women."

The Presidential Library event also offered free cholesterol screenings, and Woodland Hills resident Chrissie Lovold, 54, was happy to get in line.

Lovold said she's genetically prone to both high blood pressure and high cholesterol. "For someone like me, it's an eye-opener," Lovold said. "You may see someone walking by that looks thin and healthy, but you can't prejudge that because I have high blood pressure, I have high cholesterol, and I need to lose weight as well."

Sandra Barrera, [phone]

[e-mail]

THE FIRST LADIES RED DRESS COLLECTION

What: A display of seven red dresses, gowns and suits worn by first lady Laura Bush and six of her predecessors.

Where: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum, 40 Presidential Drive, Simi Valley.

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily through May 13.

Information: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

"The First Ladies Red Dress Collection" is on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley through Mother's Day.

Alex Collins/ Special to the Daily News