Students dress to the nines for inaugural balls

“I’m a little last minute,” laughed Marshall, who is also a member of The Daily Princetonian editorial board.

While her fellow Princetonians, clad in layers of orange sweatpants, scarves and hats, trudged back and forth between Firestone and Frist to study late into the night for impending finals, Marshall was preparing to attend one of the 10 official balls held Tuesday to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States.

Though several unofficial balls took place throughout the District on Tuesday night, partygoers at the official ones were promised an appearance by both Obama and his wife Michelle ’85 at some point during the evening’s festivities.

Tickets to most of the official balls cost more than $150, though the first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball was intended to be open to everyday Americans.

Marshall, whose father Jim ’72 is a congressman from Georgia, spent her evening at the Southeastern Ball. Classmate Trenton Arthur ’10, who worked on the Obama campaign over the summer, planned to attend both the Obama Home States Ball and the first-ever Youth Ball. The latter was designed specifically for Americans between the ages of 18 and 35 and was scheduled to be Obama’s last stop of the evening. Artists including Kanye West, Kid Rock and Fall Out Boy were expected to perform.

“I’m very excited to see a lot of people much more important than I am,” Arthur said late Monday.

Jess Lander ’10, whose father, Eric Lander ’78 is the co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Tecnology, attended the Northeastern Regional Ball.

“Everything is gorgeous,” she said in a phone call from the ball. “This is my first black-tie event. [It’s] so exciting to see everyone decked out in their finery.”

Lander said her gown was a bronze satin couture dress with a beaded bodice, which she bought from a second-hand store for just $18.

“It’s so great to celebrate on such a great day; any connection to Barack Obama’s presidency is just wonderful,” she said.

For those unable to attend a ball in person, MTV and ABC provided live telecasts Tuesday night of the Youth Ball, the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball and the Commander in Chief’s Ball.