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America's
future does not hang on the first lady's fashion. But a
final grade for
Princeton University
senior
Julie Flynn
does.
"I
decided to write about Mrs. Obama's style because I love
to shop and I am interested in fashion," Flynn, a
history major from
Westwood, Mass.
, said of her semester-ending project for her journalism
class.
For most,
the fascination with
Michelle Obama's
clothes is as simple as that.
"It's
sort of the high-brow end of celebrity watching,"
said
Sasha Iglehart
, fashion director for
Glamour magazine
.
For
others, Obama's bold colors, brooches and biceps
represent a national agenda.
Admirers
and detractors alike see her bare arms as her most
symbolic fashion gesture thus far.
"There's
not only a strength in showing the arms, but there's
also a welcoming aspect — 'Let's relax, and I'll take
off my sweater and chat,'" Iglehart suggested.
"It adds to her very personal presence."
Armhole
analysts over the past year said Obama's fashion
instincts (wide, high belts, for example) could have
used a check or balance at times.
But
there's no arguing that her style has left the biggest
fashion impact by a current or former first lady since
another you-know-O.
"For
the first time in half a century, the clothes of a first
lady have struck such a popular appeal and curiosity
with citizens — other than within the elite class —
that this has already become one of several primary
elements defining
Michelle Obama's
tenure," said
Carl Sferrazza Anthony
, historian for the
National First Ladies' Library
.
During an
interview for December's Women of the Year feature, new
Glamour magazine
columnist
Katie Couric
invited Obama to vent over the public's obsession with
her appearance.
"Do
you ever want to say to people, 'Get a life?'"
Couric posed.
"Oh,
no. It's part of the job," Obama answered without
sarcasm.
"People
are always going to have opinions, and people have a
right to their opinions, particularly when you're the
first lady; you're representing the nation," Obama
elaborated. "So I can't be surprised that people
are interested. The first thing that I've tried to do is
be at peace with the choices I make, and then be open to
everyone else's reflection, and then move from
there."
Eyes
surely will follow in 2010.
Taking up
arms: In her most polarizing appearance of 2009, the
first lady went sleeveless in a sea of suit jackets,
wearing a plum
Narciso Rodriguez
dress during her husband's speech before
Congress
on
Feb. 24
, the dead of winter. She had already worn a sleeveless
sheath several times before (so had
Jacqueline Kennedy
at her husband's State of the Union address), but the
high contrast of Obama's choice this time fueled an arms
debate as laden as any analysis of the president's
comments. More notably, there was no post-controversy
coverup. In continuing to bare her arms, Obama had
declared independence. And yet ...
Down-to-earth
appeal: Backbone brands for many American office workers
— J.Crew, Gap,
Target
,
Liz Claiborne
,
Anne Klein
— have appeared prominently in
Michelle Obama's
wardrobe alongside designer dresses. So have
shorter-than-
Bermuda
shorts (kicking up a few headlines last summer). Even
quirky kicks have ascended to the podium. "I don't
remember ever seeing a first lady wear sneakers at a
public appearance," Iglehart said. In another
departure from the celebrity playbook, Obama has
repeatedly worn even her most memorable pieces — a
floral Thakoon dress, a J.Crew honey-colored cardigan.
The sum of these parts: a message of solidarity with the
American people.
A rainbow
connection: No colors or combinations thereof seem to be
beyond the palette for Obama. She took on acid yellow,
tangerine and chartreuse (Italian design house Moschino
dubbed it "Obama green").
Chicago
designer and friend
Maria Pinto
, whose grape sheath got Obama noticed before the
election, probably influenced this vibrant
experimentation. "You always have to have some
black in the closet," Pinto has told us (and like
most women, Obama looks slimmest in it). "But
especially when you're tired, don't do black."
Thakoon's dresses and coats for Obama have elevated
prints' sophistication. Metallics have proved magnetic,
including the silver-sequined champagne gown by
Indian-American
Naeem Khan
, which Obama wore
Nov. 24
at the first state dinner, with the prime minister of
India
. In the hours after, Khan told the
Wall Street Journal
, "I was the third-most Googled person in
America."
Cardigan
coalition: In London
April 1
, Obama's sparkly J.Crew cardigan caught so many eyes
that the sweater swiftly sold out and crashed the Web
site. The next day, Obama's avant-garde
Junya Watanabe
argyle cardigan, over a
Jason Wu
party dress, prompted
New York Times
fashion critic
Cathy Horyn
to warn that Obama's penchant for cardigans could become
campy. Instead, it has set one of the year's biggest
trends. "
Michelle Obama
has owned the cardigan this year," said
Mary Tomer
, the blogger behind mrso.org and author of "Mrs.
O: The Face of Fashion Democracy." "That's
what I hear most on Mrs-O.org — that women are
scooping up J.Crew cardigans and perhaps pairing them
with a belt at the waist." No coincidence that
argyle abounded at stores for the holidays.
Framers
of her constitution: Anyone who thought Obama was going
to spend her husband's term confined to
Barbara Bush
pearls should have her baubles, belts, bows and brooches
examined. Accessories — often oversize, layered,
asymmetrical or in unconventional colors or materials
— have become key constituents of Obama's style.
"She has worn green and pink pumps as a neutral,
and brought a clear vinyl belt light years beyond the
realm of tacky," Tomer said. The take-home impact?
Tomer says, "If she can be adventurous with her
style — with millions watching, no less — so can
we."
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