Michelle Obama: She Dresses to Win

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Fashion Diary
She Dresses to Win
By GUY TREBAY
Published: June 8, 2008


(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
POWER PURPLE Michelle Obama’s simple sheath had a Camelot reference.

....Unlikely as it seems, Michelle Obama, the corporate lawyer with a big education, a bigger résumé and a history of high earnings, can sometimes appear to be tempering her own strong personality with a modernized version of another era’s ladylike clothes. It is possible, of course, at a time when campaign images are scrutinized by media sibyls as ardently as the entrails of birds were read by the ancients, to read too much into Michelle Obama’s grooming and wardrobe. Yet people who track these things see in her simple sheaths and Donna Reed flip, her streamlined silhouette and fondness for pearls, parallels with former occupants of the White House, women like the first Mrs. Bush and Jacqueline Kennedy.

“Everyone knows that people respond to the way you look when you run for office,” André Leon Talley, an editor-at-large for Vogue, which featured Mrs. Obama as an “It” girl in its April issue, said last week in an interview. “A black Camelot moment is the right moment for the Obamas,” he added. “And so the faux pearls, the A-line dresses, the Jackie flip are obviously all part of how her image strategy has evolved.”

When Mr. Obama and his wife triumphantly took the stage in St. Paul Tuesday to claim the Democratic presidential nomination, the candidate, dressed in one of the crisp, neutral suits that have made him a GQ darling, was momentarily upstaged by his wife, and not just because she knuckle-bumped him in front of the world. What grabbed the eye was the sleeveless purple silk crepe sheath made for Mrs. Obama by Maria Pinto, the former Geoffrey Beene assistant who has long been an Obama favorite. Simple in silhouette and, at about $900 retail, not the kind of garment most working-class voters can reasonably aspire to, the dress was immediately subject to water cooler dissection.

“When you are operating at a national and even global level,” said Mikki Taylor, the beauty director and cover editor of Essence magazine, everything signifies. “No gesture is too small from now on,” Ms. Taylor said. “It’s all information. We’re all taking something from this look.” What Ms. Taylor read in Mrs. Obama’s appearance on Tuesday, she said, was a message that she is primed to become first lady, although not necessarily first hostess. “Every woman I talked to was saying how she has this confidence that is empowered,” Ms. Taylor said. “The purple dress, the legs that I have to believe were bare and not wearing the prerequisite suntan stockings, all say, ‘I’m here to do business.’”...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/fashion/08michelle.html

[madeline_con]

1. The black belt thingy is incongruous, IMO.

She needed something else, in the summer, with the white pearls.

[rocktivity]

3. Yes, I would have gone with a slimmer belt, because she's short-waisted.

:headbang:
rocknation

[rocktivity]

2. With her height, coloring and curves, the last thing Michelle needs

are clothes that scream for attention. Hopefully, she'll stay her fashion course of strong colors, small patterns and simple lines that slim her hips.

:headbang:
rocknation

[pnwmom]

4. Three comments, and they're all contaminated by criticism.

"Short waist"? Hips that need to be slimmed?

IMO, she looks great. And she has a great body that probably would make anything she put on look great.

[rocktivity]

6. Not all criticism contaminates.

I agree that she looks great. But as I said, that's because she clearly has a sense of what styles and colors MAKE her look great.

I myself do not look great in tube tops because I'm square-shouldered. However, I DO look great in tank tops, spaghetti straps, and single-shouldered tops because I'm square-shouldered!

:headbang:
rocknation

[madeline_con]

8. except that black belt. n/t

[Unbowed]

13. I'm inclined to agree. n/t

[eleny]

5. I think she always looks modern and comfortable

The clothes never wear her or she never appears lost in them. Her personality always shines through.

I loved this dress on her. And I think the belt looked great with her dark hair color. The touch of pearls makes your eyes go right to her face.

Her clothes are so refreshing that I always look forward to see what she's wearing. So far, she's batting a thousand with me.

[OregonBlue]

14. I thought she was stunning and the black belt was a great choice. Broke up

all that color. Very simple, very tasteful.

[grannylib]

7. I thought it was very flattering all the way around - color, cut, fit

accessories - I loved it. I think she'll be a wonderful First Lady, and not just because she'll have no problem "looking the part."

[chimpymustgo]

9. I'd like to see Michelle make some classic looks her own. Right now, she's too trendy, not

classically chic enough for first lady. She can carry off many looks well. I'm always underwhelmed - even turned off by her choices. Yes, she's far better than Laura, but she should be setting the pace - but with impeccable, unimpeachable style. So far, not so much.

[grannylib]

18. Maybe she'll kick it into high gear once she is First Lady; maybe

she's trying not to look too "elitist" right now, more "everyday woman" and accessible...just a thought. I've seen pix of her looking just divine, out at events with Senator Obama in the past; I think she'll make a stunning style icon as First Lady, although I hope that won't be everyone's major focus. I bet she has a lot more to offer this nation than good taste and the money to spend on designer duds *lol*
:hi:

[saracat]

10. Odd people complained about Edwards haircuts

and people whined about THK clothing budget and called her elitist ! That dress could be a mortgage payment for many of us! I do think it is lovely though.

[FrenchieCat]

11. She a trend setter, not a slave to styles....which is what we want in the end......

she is not predictable in her choices of color or accessories, and that is what makes her so interesting, in terms of her wardrobe.

I like what I have seen thus far, and I am heavy into fashion (coming from france, maybe that's why).

She's a Michelle O, instead of Jackie O.

She can sport bright colors due to her skin color, and she wears them well.

Love the fact that she wears bare legs, cause when was the last time we had a First Lady who had the legs to pull it off? Hell, Love the fact that she wears dresses!

I think that she will become an Icon.....and she will do us proud.

[DeepModem Mom]

12. Michelle O -- I like that! nt

[populistdriven]

15. whatever she's doing, don't stop, it works n/t

[starroute]

16. But what was that dig about it costing $900?

"Not the kind of garment most working-class voters can reasonably aspire to"?

Jeez. Does anybody remember this?

http://bumpshack.com/2006/12/06/laura-bush-and-the-red-dress/

First Lady Laura Bush found herself in an awkward fashion moment this week at an exclusive White House holiday reception.

Bush wore a beautiful and elegant designer gown for the occasion. The gown (pictured above) was designed by Oscar de la Renta and cost nearly $8,500 dollars. The problem was not the dress but the number of people who showed up for the party wearing the exact same dress. Three women were spotted wearing the same gown at the party. Such a fashion no-no and quite embarrasing for all involved.

Laura didn’t fret though, she went upstairs changed dresses and enjoyed the rest of the evening with those in attendance. The President and First Lady got a big kick out of mishap according to Mrs. Bush’s office.

[Kixel]

17. Not only that...

But Michelle looked a hell of alot better in here dress than the first lady did. Of course, Michelle looks good in everything!