The INSIDER Summary:
- Paula Van Drisse, a newscaster in Oklahoma, sews her own dresses to wear on TV.
- Inspired by the bell sleeve dress that Melania Trump to the 2016 Republican National Convention, Van Drisse began to replicate dresses worn by first ladies over the years.
- She has created five dresses inspired by outfits that first ladies have worn over several decades.
- The dresses each take her a month to make.
- The materials for each dress cost her $100.
Paula Van Drisse, a news anchor in Oklahoma, has found that the best way to avoid buying expensive outfits for her job in broadcast journalism is to make her own clothes.
Van Drisse's specialty is replicating dresses that famous first ladies like Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, and Hillary Clinton have worn to major events, as we first saw on Yahoo Lifestyle.
The local news anchor told Yahoo Lifestyle that she was inspired to start this project when she saw Melania Trump's bell sleeve dress at the July 2016 Republican National Convention. Since Van Drisse could not afford the $2,190 dress, she decided to make her own version.
She wore the dress on TV once it was completed. 
The dress was a hit among her fans, so Van Drisse decided to keep going with the project. So far, she has replicated five dresses worn by five different first ladies. As she works, she posts pictures of the dresses to her professional Facebook page — and her fans love to see the progress.
After she completed a replica of Trump's dress, she moved on to a Michael Kors dress that Michelle Obama wore when President Barack Obama was reelected in 2012.
Then she took on an Oscar de la Renta Gown that Laura Bush wore to an event at the White House in 2005.
Next up, she reimagined a more casual version of a Sarah Phillips gown that Hillary Clinton wore to the 1993 Inaugural Ball.
Only one dress has been too formal for Van Drisse to wear on air: An imitation of an embroidered gown that Barbara Bush wore.
"That would be a bit formal for the news," told Yahoo Lifestyle.
The local news anchor's fans love these outfits and often leave her reassuring comments on social media. Her creations have started to go viral because of all the attention she's received.
"Wow, absolutely beautiful! It's wonderful to see someone actually make their clothes! I love it, keep up the great work!!" one person wrote. "You are so multitalented. [They] might be a little too dressy for the anchor desk, but you always look so lovely so show it off," someone else agreed.
One person even said they would consider having Van Drisse make her a dress. "I love it!!!!! You do such an amazing job at these, shoot I might pay you to make my daughter and I one," she wrote.
Although the broadcast journalist enjoys this ongoing project, she said it takes hard work.
"I sew on nights and weekends and each dress typically costs $100 to make and one month to complete," she told Yahoo Lifestyle. "I plan to make more dresses, focusing on this century. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t be able to wear them on air."
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