Every decision President Barack Obama has made over the past 100 days has been analyzed this way and that. The same could be said for first lady Michelle Obama, and nothing has been more widely discussed than her wardrobe choices.
It was with bated breath the world waited to see her inaugural gown, what she’d wear to meet the queen and her fashion face-off with Carla Bruni-Sarkozy of France. Each of those outfits produced subsequent (and significant) debate in the media, on blogs and at coffee klatches everywhere about her bare arms, form-fitting sheaths and relaxed style.
Since arriving at the White House, Obama has stayed true to her independent style, but she’s also grown additional confidence, observes Amy Fine Collins, a special correspondent for Vanity Fair.
“She looks less worried about making a mistake, but the definition of what she can wear is being broadened every time she steps out,” says Collins, who works with the magazine on its International Best-Dressed List, to which Obama has already been named twice.
The time had come to break the mold of the first lady uniform, says Hal Rubenstein, InStyle fashion director. “I say this with real snarkiness: They all wore ‘that suit.’ That Adolfo-like suit that was glued onto Nancy Reagan and Laura Bush, and Hillary (Clinton) did her best to fit into it. It became the political wife uniform . . . and it was dull.” Michelle Obama has an air of modernity, he says. “I’m not saying you imagine her living down the block but she looks like a modern American woman, not a political artifact.”
Nothing did more for her image — and the image of American fashion — than her trip to Europe. She even upstaged her husband, Collins notes, thanks to her elegant, chic look.
“They, as a couple, have a dynamic,” Valerie Steele, chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, says, adding that Michelle Obama’s image in turn reinforces her husband’s as “young, fresh and forward-thinking.” Their daughters, Sasha and Malia, complete that picture, dressing just like other ‘tweens and adding to the impression that this White House is accessible.
Meanwhile, the first lady’s closet is a mix of up-and-coming designer labels like Isabel Toledo and Jason Wu, a few established ones such as Michael Kors and Narciso Rodriguez, and off-the- rack pieces from national retailers such at J.Crew, Gap and Talbots.
She’ll wear the same belt, shoes or sweater with several different ensembles — as most women do.
“I think it’s clear that she likes fashion and fashion likes her,” Steele says. “The whole fussy ‘what first ladies should wear thing’ has been swept away. She wears what she wants.”
A look back at Obama’s first lady style at home, away, and out and about:
• Formal: Obama doesn’t hide her feminine shape in her formalwear, instead embracing fitted bodices and slightly flared skirts. It’s also a natural time to highlight her toned arms since gowns and cocktail dresses are so often sleeveless.
The bare-arm debate seems very old- fashioned, says FIT’s Steele.
• In the community: Belts, button- downs and cardigans are key parts of Obama’s wardrobe when she is in the community, whether she is reading at schools, giving a speech or touring government offices.
Who would have thought someone considered as trend-right as Michelle Obama would make a cardigan a signature? Collins wonders. On her, though, she shows the sweater — which she wears in slim silhouettes and in shades ranging from pink to black — isn’t just for children or old ladies.
“It’s clever to not wear the jacket all the time, which can look stiff and proper,” Collins says.
• Traveling: If American armchair fashion critics are interested in Michelle Obama’s wardrobe, Europe’s were downright obsessed during her recent visit. She gave them a lot of fodder, starting with the chartreuse Jason Wu dress she wore to touch down in London and continuing her fashion show through a meeting with Queen Elizabeth, and later stops in France, Germany and the Czech Republic.
Obama truly represented the unfussy American aesthetic, especially when she met with Bruni-Sarkozy, Collins says. “My reading of it was they were dressing to mutually admire each other, and that’s the way the women I know dress: so that other women will admire their clothes.” A slim black dress with a V-neck by Azzedine Alaia was one of Rubenstein’s favorite outfits so far. “It was really sensual, almost to the point of sexy,” says the InStyle trend-watcher.
