Michelle Obama's real-world style: Forging a unique look mixing designer labels, mall classics

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: Michelle Obama's real-world style
The soon-to-be first lady has forged a unique look, mixing designer labels and mall classics. And there are signs she might get America shopping again.
By BOOTH MOORE, Fashion Critic
November 9, 2008


(Matt Sayles /AP)
THE LOOK: With her bold, individual fashion choices, Michelle Obama reflects a modern way of dressing.

Fashion has a new first lady.

If the black-and-red dress Michelle Obama wore for her husband's victory speech Tuesday is any indication, she is poised to be her own kind of style icon in the White House. The straight-from-the-spring-runway dress, which she paired with a black cardigan, was a major statement, the patriotic red bursting out of black like a firecracker out of the night sky. You either loved it or hated it, but you couldn't ignore it.

Obama, 44, proved that unlike many other first ladies, she does not intend to fade into the background. The high-end, intricately embroidered dress that launched a thousand blog posts is by American designer Narciso Rodriguez, who first gained notice for his clothes for the late Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, most notably, her wedding dress. Similar runway styles cost $3,500 or more, but Obama's wardrobe is not merely a collection of big names and bigger price tags.

Obama combines youth and beauty with an innate sense of what to wear. She has worn clothes by several American designers on the campaign trail, but she's mixed them with cheap-chic finds, suggesting she will have a more down-to-earth fashion identity than any recent first lady. Not only is Obama's high-low style modern, it's right for right now. She reflects the American-led democratization of fashion that has revolutionized the way the world dresses by making designer names available in Target and JC Penney. It's a more sensible approach to spending that's in tune with the economic times....

At the high end, the teal sheath ($795) she wore with a starburst brooch at the Democratic National Convention was designed by Maria Pinto, a Chicago-based designer who sells to Saks Fifth Avenue, among other stores. Pinto told the Chicago Tribune that retail orders for her pieces have increased 45% within the last 12 months and attributes some of that rise to the first-lady-in-waiting. Obama's rose-print convention dress ($1,250) was by Thakoon Panichgul, a young New York designer who sells to Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom and has a line landing in Target on Christmas Day.

But Obama is a real fashion enthusiast, someone who enjoys the thrill of the hunt for that perfect $30 black-and-white-checked Gap sundress like the one she wore on the Fourth of July....

***

"She's taken the idea of what a first lady should be and turned it on its head," says J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons. "Before Michelle Obama, everyone had the idea that you had to be suited up and running with the crowd to be taken seriously. It's fabulous to see her on the cover of a magazine in a hot pink dress. She's not afraid to step out in something unusual."...

http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-ig-obama9-2008nov09,0,668167.story

[oldtime dfl_er]

1. I know I shouldn't care

but I hope she wears a dress in that beautiful teal color at the inaugural ball. The color is perfect for her!

[DeepModem Mom]

2. It is! That would be a rich, striking color choice, too. nt

[Window]

3. I like our First Lady's style.

[otohara]

4. "Mrs O" Fashion Site Cool

thanks for posting - http://www.mrs-o.org/

[shireen]

5. Donna Karan's comments were striking

from the website you posted:
Donna Karan: “She is powerful, elegant and sophisticated. You see the woman first, she is not overpowered by the clothes. We expect a role model. She is a mother, a wife. She has all the attributes that matter.”