New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, is sworn in by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman during a private ceremony at the Executive Mansion in Albany, N.Y., Friday, Dec. 31, 2010. Cuomo’s girlfriend Sandra Lee holds the Bible as his daughter Michaela Cuomo looks on. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) (AP)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Sandra Lee (AP)
A true New Yorker in black with a pop of orange at a 2007 charity event. (Carolyn Contino / BEImages)
She stood beside him, holding the Bible, as he was sworn in as the 56th governor of New York. Clad in an all-white ensemble including pearls, a floral brooch and a white designer shift dress, Sandra Lee smiled lovingly at her boyfriend of four years, Andrew Cuomo.
At 53, Cuomo had finally achieved his life’s ambition. And the Food Network queen, famed for her TV show “Semi-Homemade Cooking” and her frugal recipes that have turned her into a multimillionaire, was officially “first lady” of the state — whether she liked it or not.
The days of keeping her professional life separate from her partner’s and their private life private, as she did when Cuomo served as attorney general, were finally over. Just seven days after the inauguration, at a press conference to promote her work against hunger, she failed to sidestep public interest in her relationship. “You’re dodging little questions here and there when it comes to the governor,” a reporter told her.
Lee appeared stupefied, and her publicist abruptly shut down the meeting.
But while Lee, 44, remains quiet about her boyfriend, speculation grows about what kind of first lady she will be. It is clear she wants to be seen as ethical. Lee has made it known that she — not the state — pays for her personal bodyguards. While she and Cuomo live in Westchester, she plans to only occasionally visit the governor’s 40-room Albany mansion, which boasts a full-time domestic staff.
She also wants to be seen as thrifty. The dress she wore to the inauguration was actually an old favorite she had previously donned for the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame Awards on Oct. 27.
Her shoes, $825 “Gres’s” open-toe pumps by Christian Louboutin, had also been trotted out to other red carpet events.
“She’s recycling her clothes and wearing the same shoes and dress. It’s very important in this economy,” says Stacy London, host of TLC’s “What Not To Wear.” “You want people to know that you understand that there is economic hardship around you.”
Joanna Coles, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, says Lee’s fashion choices prove she’s a perfect symbol for our cash-strapped age. “Most people wear designer dresses several times,” Coles says. “It’s the only way you can justify the price. I think New York women will like her better for it.”
In fact, Lee is extremely calculated and strategic about what she wears, using her mostly all-white wardrobe to project an aura of “happy, shiny and pretty” to the public, says an insider close to Lee, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Her look is all about creating a fantasy that appeals more to heartland America instead of women in New York, the source says.
“She and her show aren’t about appealing to New Yorkers but to people in Middle America,” says the source. “She knows who her audience is.”
Before filming her show each season, Lee and her stylist from the Food Network spend her clothing allowance from the channel at stores like Bloomingdale’s, where she favors both expensive, glitzy labels and reasonably priced loungewear, the source says.
Some of her favorite designer labels are Dolce & Gabbana and Roberto Cavalli, while her casual attire consists of Michael Stars T-shirts and Juicy Couture sweat suits more typically seen on Long Island soccer moms.
“[Her stylist] is not guiding her, though. He’s more of a second opinion,” says the friend, who adds that Lee deliberately ignores the latest trends. “She has nice things, but you won’t find her wearing full looks from 2011 spring lines.”
As Lee, a self-proclaimed “lifestylist,” told More magazine in a 2008 interview: “I love new fashion trends, but they’ve got to be flattering on me and my curves, not on the hanger.”
Through a representative, Lee reveals to The Post that she “loves New York designers and beautiful, elegant fabrics that are soft, flowy and chic,” adding “it’s about the tailoring.”
But the food sensation, who overcame a poverty-stricken childhood to achieve dizzying success, including 23 cookbooks and her own magazine, now has to work harder on the fashion front to win over New Yorkers, say style experts.
Celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch says Lee’s taste is “incredibly consistently mediocre.”
“Her style is noncommittal. She’s not committed to being a wife, a great chef or stylish. Even her pearls aren’t committed to being modern,” sniffs Bloch, author of “The Shopping Diet.”
It is true that Lee has — with a few exceptions — stuck to a steady sartorial diet of white, which lends a virginal glow to the divorcée, who has no apparent plans to marry Cuomo, a father of three girls who is also divorced.
“It’s possible that with the choice of white, there is the idea of purity and the fact they aren’t married and [she is] trying to not look like the girlfriend, and look respectable,” London says.
But if Lee wants to work the New York social circuit, London says she needs to mix up her wardrobe of demure cream dresses and kitten heels. “Your style reflects a certain dimensionality, and she’s hitting the same note over and over again.” The governor’s consort, she adds, “is a visual role with a certain amount of responsibility. You do have a built-in audience, and [the public is] looking to you.”
London points out that First Lady Michelle Obama rarely plays it safe with her fashion choices. She makes a statement with her clothes, and the public loves her for it.
“Michelle takes chances and makes mistakes, but she’s opened up a whole world on how style can be a tool. It tells us that she takes risks and has a sense of humor. There’s a lot you can glean from her.”
London suggests Lee ditch the snow-bunny look for jewel tones, which will make her sapphire eyes pop, while Bloch recommends she spice up her style with punches of blue, red and lavender. “Interestingly enough, she looks like she could get away with any color,” he says.
Meanwhile, New York society eagerly awaits Lee’s attendance at parties and fund-raisers. Jamee Gregory, a socialite who sits on the board of the Society of Sloan-Kettering and the author of “New York Parties Private View,” says she is puzzled by Lee’s reluctance to appear out on the scene. “I’ve never seen her out at parties,” says Gregory, adding that “all of the charities in New York would be delighted to have her help.”
While Lee works out her public strategy — and her personal style — in the coming months, it’s rumored that, despite her conservative appearance, the food star actually likes to let her hair down on occasion. “She doesn’t eat her own food,” says the source close to Lee. “But she does drink her cocktails!”
kirsten.fleming@nypost.com