Mrs.O-Inspired Style Discovery
Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 4:33 PM Mrs. O will usher in a new era of fashion in the White House, perhaps most significantly through her taste for mixing high and low end designs. Stunning in dresses from mass market retailers such as J.Crew, H&M, Gap and White House | Black Market on the campaign trail throughout 2008, Mrs. O has shown women how to dress stylishly without busting the bank.
Price, no matter how hard glossy fashion magazines might try to convince us otherwise, has weak correlation with style. Even Mrs. O was not exempt from that trap. From the campaign trail, one of her most praised outfits was the White House | Black Market dress, and one of her most controversial was the Narciso Rodriguez frock worn on election night. We have also been among those personally inspired.
Having previously dismissed White House | Black Market as perhaps a bit boring, we were intrigued by Mrs. O's appearance on "The View" wearing her now iconic Donna Ricco leaf print sundress. So when we passed by the chain's Georgetown boutique over Christmas break, we had to give it a second look, if only for a quick stroll inside to inquire about all the fanfare surrounding Mrs. O's sundress. As it happened, we accidentally discovered a beautiful jacket in oversized houndstooth at a very reasonable price. We are now happily sporting this around town, with a little secret personal connection to the First Lady.
Which leads us to wonder, how many moments like this has Mrs. O inspired? We'd love to hear your stories as well.
Outfits
Reader Comments (22)
I just wanted to say, it's not only women who find Michelle Obama's approach to fashion inspiring. I'm a 50-year-old white male businessman who enjoys his clothing, and I think Mrs. O is just great. The mixing of "high" and "low" (in both pricing and label status) not only comes across as completely genuine, but admirably suited to the times. Myself, I splurge on higher-end items sometimes; scour online sales much of the time; pick up labeled items for a fraction of cost often on Ebay; or wander into Target and find a great-looking brown corduroy vest for under $15.00. Mixing styles and sources with confidence, and an underlying trust in the unifying effect of your own taste, is part of the fun. That's the way "real" well-dressed people do it, and it's definitely the First Lady's way. My fedora's off to her!
I purchased a beautiful large black / white & crystal floral bracelet for $6.00 wholesale in NYC. I have received more compliments on this piece than on almost any other jewelry I own. It is very Michelle. She inspired it. Before I would have been afraid to make as bold a statement.
I LOVE that Mrs. Obama wears a cardigan and brooches. My "signature" style includes twin sets and pins I now feel fashionable instead of "suburban mom-ish". I also added a yellow cable knit sweater after seeing the J Crew look; I've gotten a ton of compliments on it.
For me it's brooches.
I find Mrs. O's love of brooches to be so quirky and endearing. And she's so brave about it! Two outfits come to mind. The body-hugging, blue knit dress she wore to one of the debates (I believe it was the last one, at Hofstra) where she wore a pearl necklace pinned with criss-crossed brooches. At the time I thought to myself "WHO DOES THAT? HOW ADORABLE!" I just loved it.
Another even quirkier outfit was when she pinned brooches to a cardigan when she appeared on Ellen. Totally adorable. There's been many other times, and she single-handedly introduced me to this lovely accessory.
It's not something that is "in" or "fashionable" or splashed across magazines. It's just her own flair. And now it's MY flair! I have bought several brooches--cheap ones from stores like H&M, not the gorgeously crafted ones that Michelle wears. I pin them onto sweaters, dresses, my coat etc. They just bring me happiness.
So many people comment on how great they look that I almost feel like an impostor--in that I am not all that "original". I am quite literally copying someone else. But, they've also become part of my own style and reflect my long-standing love of all things that are quirky or less obvious.
Anyway that's just ONE thing Michelle has taught me. I would also add that I love her "skinny belt over suit" look. If ever I have the chance to wear a suit (I am a 23-year old freelance writer, so I generally work in my pajamas, not suits) I will definitely emulate her here as well.
Here is that amazing dress with brooches she wore at Hofstra: http://www.nancarrow-webdesk.com/warehouse/storage2/2008-w41/img.377148_t.jpg
And here she is on Ellen (more brooch love): http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0dT3ciX4SL1ay/610x.jpg
I feel very cool because I have I have the adult version of Malia's J.Crew inauguration coat.
This is a very interesting article as it relates to my former perception of White House Black Market, because I'd also felt the same way about Talbots and their dowdy aesthetic. There were some November articles that had mentioned Talbots' inspiration taken from Mrs. Obama for their entire fall collection.
http://www1.talbots.com/talbotsonline/product/itempage.aspx?item=E238889&PFID=521&BID=&h=M&sk=M
www.zazzle.com/mizzbella
I found a GORGEOUS brooch at White House | Black Market a couple of days ago that Mrs. O would heartily give two thumbs up to! And it was only $24. I used to never visit but now I go in every now and then. She has been my fashion inspiration.
I wanted that dress so badly but alas it was sold out for the longest time. It's back at WHBM but only in size 16 :(
Hopefully they'll produce more =D
I love all these mentions of previously under-the-radar retail chains such as Target, Talbots, H&M, as well as random-six-dollar finds. It's not really who your wear, but how you wear it. Not only is it chic, it's recession-chic!
I am also wondering about "if" and "when" Mrs. O will don a Oscar de la Renta, the unofficial dresser of First Ladies since Hillary Clinton. Ballpark range for his dresses? 3-4K!
My new style motto is WWMW - What Would Michelle Wear?
That said, I'm paying a lot more attention to accessories and embracing my own style quirks. While I don't want to "copy" Mrs. O (though I'm on the hunt for a yellow cashmere cardigan and if someone handed me an Alaia belt, I'd grab it!) she is such a fashion influence that it is hard not to. Let me rephrase that. Mrs O is so cool and such a role model that I only hope I can do justice to her fashionable inspiration. Thank you Mrs O for putting the fun back in fashion!
I'm finding myself now open to a bit more colour. If I see pink, or green or anything too bright, I don't normally dismiss it out of turn like I used to do, I just keep on clashing.
Cheers, Mrs O!
I've been dressing myself for years mixing my thrift finds, vintage finds, and inexpensive treasures from placed like Forever 21 (and I'm now 38) and Target for years, punctuated by Nine West shoes and stuff on sale from Anthropologie, Banana Republic, etc. Mixing things is just a more realistic way to create a personal look for normal people like me who don't have tons of money to blow on name brands. Mrs. O gives me oodles more confidence to wear the loud colors I love. I hope she continues inspiring women to have fun with their clothes (and in their careers and families, of course).
I enjoyed watching this interview again! This was that time when I really fell hard for Mrs. O. She looked truly divine in that Donna Ricco dress. And I have been following her style ever since.
Mrs. O is an inspiration in the fashion blogging community as well. So many bloggers have been writing tributes to her, that I set the Michelle Obama Wardrobe Challenge. On Tuesday, February 3, 2009, participating fashion bloggers will dress inspired by Mrs. O post their ensembles on their blogs.
For more information:
http://fashiongirlsgallery.blogspot.com/2008/12/michelle-obama-wardrobe-challenge.html
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