First Fashionista: Martha Washington gets a makeover

Martha Washington's "after" portrait. Forensic anthropologists used a1796 portrait of Martha to generate an image of what she would have looked like in her 20s. Inspired by that image, artist Michael Deas painted this portrait of her.

"This just in: Martha Washington was hot.  Or at least hotter than we thought," says Brigid Schulte, staffwriter at The Washington Post.

For over 200 years, America's first first lady Martha Washington has been portrayed in history books as a dumpy, frumpy and plump old bore. Turns out, though, that Martha was actually more bombshell than bore, more First Fashionista than First Frump, and more Carrie Bradshaw than Edith Bunker.  Simply put, she was hot to trot.

Here's a thing or two that most folks don't know about Martha:

• When it came to dating, George wasn't Martha's only game.  She had another suiter, who wrote of her beauty and his hope to "arouse a flame in her breast."  (Steamy!)  
• Martha was a successful businesswoman.  She managed the five plantations that she inherited from her first husband and negotiated to get the highest prices for her tobacco.
• Martha read chick lit (known as gothic romance novels in her day).
• Martha wore shoes that were considered highly fashionable in her day.  Her purple sequined heels (below) would bring Jimmy Choo to his knees.

For more on Martha and her hotness, check out Shulte's Post article here and her online discussion with readers over here.