The one person in Dublin Castle yesterday who appears to have ignored her request for informal dress was the President, Mrs McAleese. Even while exhorting her guests to adopt a casual approach to the occasion, she chose to make a definite effort - although with decidedly mixed results.
For the day's two ceremonies, the President commissioned new ensembles from a pair of Irish designers. The midday ceremony saw her arriving at Dublin Castle in a full-length camel coloured cashmere coat with faux fur collar. Beneath she wore a fawn velvet suit, the jacket with stepped neckline and cuff detail, the skirt to the ankle, with a single vent at the back.
The whole ensemble was made by Miriam Mone, a Dublin-based designer from Co Armagh.
Despite a charming asymmetrical collar, the single button coat was probably ill-advised, tending to make the President look heavier than her size 12 because of the amount of clothing being worn beneath.
At five foot, eight inches she is the same height as Mary Robinson but the latter looked taller and slimmer; a higher pair of heels for the new President would certainly have helped. While the velvet suit itself was elegant, the jacket detailing left her neck harshly exposed and suggested the absence of jewellery. For last night's State reception she wore pieces designed by Dublin jeweller Vivien Walsh.
Mrs McAleese's choice of colour for the day was also not as successful as during the past couple of months when she has worn predominantly warm, rich shades such as brown, burgundy and plum. Yesterday's camel and fawn tended to drain her face of its naturally warm tones, making her seem paler than usual.
Her outfit for the State reception was an ensemble designed by Mary Gregory, a full-length bias-cut wrapover dress and matching coat in silk panne velvet. The colour of antique silver, it bore a hand-painted text from a poem by Christopher Logue called Come to the Edge.
For the next seven years, at least where matters of dress are concerned, Mrs McAleese is unlikely to be able to come even close to the edge. She will not take risks with her clothes but, following the form yesterday, will always be immaculately turned out regardless of what the rest of the company wears.
In Britain, the Prime Minister's wife Cherie Blair finds her clothes constantly scrutinised as she takes over the late Princess of Wales's role of the nation's clotheshorse. The President will soon discover she is subject to the same persistent examination of every hem and neckline. From now on, even her most casual dress must have a certain element of formality.
In her appearance, as in so much else, Mrs McAleese represents the aspirations of the nation. Everyone wants to have unladdered tights and a freshly-pressed shirt; she shall do so.
She has always looked impeccably groomed since first announcing her candidature for the Presidency. In this, as so much else, she emulates the example of her predecessor, who underwent a radical transformation in the run-up to her election.
Pictures taken just a couple of months ago show a very different woman to the one seen yesterday, someone not overly preoccupied by sartorial matters and obviously dressing with convenience foremost in mind. Once the campaign began, she took professional advice from stylist Helen Cody and hairdresser/make-up artist Mary Bruton. The combination of well-applied make-up, a colour rinse on freshly layered, shoulder-length hair and a wardrobe of predominantly Irish-designed clothing produced an entirely new image for the candidate Most garments worn of late by the President came via Diffusion, a shop on Dublin's Clontarf Road owned by Kate Gaffney, sister of Mrs McAleese's press liaison officer, Eileen Gleeson.
Yesterday morning, eight outfits were displayed in the windows of Diffusion; these included the mulberry Lyn Mar designs the President wore on The Late, Late Show, the grape Mary Gregory suit in which she arrived at Dublin Castle on the night she won the election and the black Deborah Veale trouser suit she chose for last Sunday's Remembrance Day service at St Patrick's Cathedral. If she wears trousers in public more often, she will be doing her sex a favour. Cherie Blair recently caused a stir in the British media by wearing trousers to Balmoral, but the reality is that these are now a commonplace item in every woman's wardrobe. The President might also care to invest in some accessories, specifically gloves and bags.
There is one accessory already well-associated with the new President which she might care to shed. The velvet scarves draped around her neck serve no function and tend to look simply silly.