Unless you’ve had your head buried in the sand for the past few months, you’ve been bombarded with newspaper and magazine articles and photos of our new first lady, Michele Obama. Reports on President Obama’s important activities during his first trip to the G-20 Summit in Europe ran neck and neck with coverage of what his wife was wearing. Being heralded as “The New Diana” in an article by Meredith Etherington-Smith, the commentator remarked;
“Rather than simply mimic the sad, saggy beige cashmere of yesteryear, the first lady took a grand old British tradition, turned it on its head, and gave it major new spin.”
“Michelle Obama has a style and megawatt charisma not seen on the global stage since Princess Diana gave up on the meringue dresses (and her husband) and started wearing sly little above-the-knee Chanel shifts, and pearls.”
“Here is a woman who doesn’t need to change every ten minutes to prop up her self-esteem. She’s got far better things to do with herself than clothes-horse about, ten paces behind her husband.”
A fashion reporter from the Daily Beast took the time to contrast Michelle Obama to Carla Sarkozy, wife of the president of France.
“Michelle has won over the French. They appreciate that she's good-natured, dynamic, and trained as a lawyer—law being next to politics in France.”
“Michelle won for being fresh and original. She was praised for wearing what she wants and what she senses suits her. Big labels (Oscar, Calvin, Donna), be damned! A cardigan to Buckingham Palace, she felt comfortable. Bare arms in April—why not when they’re toned? Carla's Dior convent-girl look, however, is getting tired. As one wag put it, "she's like the former showgirl who wants to win over her bourgeois belle-mère (mother-in-law)—ça suffit!' The fact that Michelle wore Azzedine Alaia twice—considered today’s designer du jour—suggests that she's more fashion forward than Carla. Weird when Carla used to model for Alaia and wear him a lot.”
“Carla's choice of a mouse-gray suede Dior coat with pussycat bow was dismissed as dowdy. Michelle's Thakoon coat and dress outfit was praised as a sharp, well-cut upper. There again, the following morning, Carla got a thumbs up for her lilac Dior coat—it had swing and suited her complexion—whereas Michelle’s choice of cropped Alaia jacket with Gunex’s pants did nothing for her shapely derrière. Note to MO—next time a skirt!”
“Major bravos for her natural smile, big white American teeth and fit, strong body that isn’t starved. Having heaps of inner glamour, Michelle has finally broken the Jackie Kennedy myth.”
The point about Michelle, according to insiders, is that she has always loved fashion. She enjoyed "being pretty," she told Barbara Walters in her debut appearance on American chat show 'The View' last year . The women of America gave her the thumbs up. Then, in American Vogue, she said: "I love clothes. First and foremost, I wear what I love. That's what women have to focus on: what makes them happy and what makes them feel comfortable and beautiful. If I can have any impact, I want women to feel good about themselves and have fun with fashion."
For all the newspaper or magazine articles, not to mention all the commentary on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc, absolutely everyone seems to have an opinion on what the first lady is wearing. I’ve read tons of comments from hidden faces on the Internet. Some full of praise and some too nasty for words. I’m amazed that some of these folks with such strong opinions take the time to focus on this ‘world-wide’ topic of great importance. Are these same individuals commenting on the situation in Sudan’s Darfur region or on the massive poverty and hunger around the globe? Do you see them comment on the rising cost of health care or inadequate efforts at energy conservation, on global warming or the rise in nuclear threats to our country? Folks, listen up. There are serious issues that need your attention. Let the first lady make her fashion choices. Some you’ll like and some you won’t. It won’t matter in the least. Let’s get focused on the serious business at hand and support our president in his efforts to effect meaningful change...right now. You can make a difference.
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