Evolution of Style
Saturday, May 18, 2013 at 8:45 PM Like many of you, I have followed Michelle Obama’s public profile since the early days of her husband’s run for the Presidency. Whilst closely following Mrs Obama’s dedication to public policy through initiatives such as Let’s Move and Joining Forces, I’ve also been watching how her fantastic sense of style has evolved since she moved into the White House back in January 2009.
It is clear that the First Lady is dedicated to reworking her wardrobe and re-wearing many of the pieces within it. Nothing is off limits, and Mrs Obama has repeated many of her outfits, regardless of who designed them. It was great to recently see the reappearance of the Thakoon inside-out dress at the Joining Forces hiring initiative on Tuesday 30th April, especially as we first saw this striking floral piece during the 2008 Presidential campaign. Other recent reappearances include the lovely Jason Wu ivory raw-silk dress with hand embroidered embellishments at the First Lady’s visit to the Department of the Interior, a crimson pleated georgette dress by Michael Kors at the signing ceremony of the Maryland Veterans Full Employment Act, and a Prabal Gurung charcoal brush painted rose silk twill gazar dress and coat to the Easter Service at St John’s Episcopal Church. I love it when I recognize a piece from the First Lady’s wardrobe, the sense of familiarity reminding me it’s okay to repeat and re-wear something that I really love.
Mrs Obama seems to be shifting towards more structured dresses, favoring sheaths by designers such as L’Wren Scott, Jason Wu and Narciso Rodriguez. We particularly saw this trend on the First Lady’s recent Vogue Magazine cover, where she wore a cerulean blue and purple sheath dress by Reed Krakoff. Striking in its unique design, this choice is indicative of Mrs Obama’s passion to be different, picking classic pieces with that little bit of a twist.
We’ve also seen Mrs O embrace powerful pops of color, veering at times towards palettes of neon hues. One of her most recent choices was the bright plum merino knitwear set by J Crew Collection, debuted on a visit with military families at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The First Lady also chose a bright and spring-like yellow Preen pantsuit for the Memphis Soul workshop at the White House in early April. These bold choices remind us that it’s good to be brave, and embrace a daring piece to shake up our personal style.
Mrs Obama continues to use statement accessories to accent her outfits, but we have seen a shift away from the belts that adorned her waist through many of her first term appearances. Big and bold pieces by designers such as Alexis Bittar and Miriam Haskall now make regular appearances, whilst the First Lady continues to introduce fresh jewelry designers such as Catherine Angiel and Kimberly McDonald for many evening events and black tie appearances. Mrs O also continues to wear pins on a frequent basis, steering towards simple and effective floral pieces from designers such as Alexis Bittar and Hattie Carnegie.
We all remember the media circus when the White House tweeted a photograph of Mrs Obama with her new hairstyle. The discussion surrounding her adoption of bangs in January this year proved as monumental as when Hillary Rodham Clinton wore a scrunchie or chose a pantsuit in a new hue. This is perhaps one of the biggest evolutionary style moves, and will be one of the memorable moments that we will all remember when we look back at Mrs Obama’s time as First Lady.
Despite this big (and successful!) change, Mrs Obama continues to display many of her original stylish characteristics that transfixed an industry and made us fall in love with her. It is great to see that Mrs Obama remains steadily loyal to J Crew, encouraging us all to improve our wardrobes with standout pieces from this beloved American store. Newly debuted J Crew pieces include the pink and navy scalloped flats worn for her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel, and a casual floral stripe tee debuted at the White House Easter Egg Roll. Introducing new and fun pieces into her wardrobe inspires us all to continue to evolve our sense of personal style, and I thought of Mrs O as my own style inspiration when I purchased a pair of the leopard Etta pumps at J Crew a few weeks ago.
Michelle Obama is a rare, and utterly authentic public figure. Her confidence is a complete inspiration, and she brilliantly displays her personality through her sartorial choices. In a recent Vogue interview, Mrs Obama maintained, “women should wear whatever makes them feel good about themselves. [If] you’re comfortable in your clothes it’s easy to connect with people and make them feel comfortable as well.” Isn’t this a great mantra that we should all be living by?
Laura-Emily Dunn is the founder and editor of Political Style. Follow her on Twitter, here.
Reader Comments (16)
I too love her repeats. Great article.
Great write-up! I've loved how she re-wears her clothes and tweaks them ever so slightly to present a fresh and updated look-
She effortlessly makes the argument for investing in well-made, good quality clothing and accessories.
@McKinley, you're going to live very long; I was just browsing through the older posts provided through some of the links and wondered about you - and here you are after all this time--what are the odds-
She just gets more pretty and more stylish.
Mrs. Obama wears what she feels suits her at the moment and the fact that she reaches back into her closet time and again let's us feel familiar with her and is also a testament to the timeless quality of her gorgeous wardrobe choices. I love watching her and can't believe my good fortune to be alive in this time.
Mrs. Obama wears what she feels suits her at the moment and the fact that she reaches back into her closet time and again let's us feel familiar with her and is also a testament to the timeless quality of her gorgeous wardrobe choices. I love watching her and can't believe my good fortune to be alive in this time.
@ Audrey, I agree; the article is indeed a great write-up and I love that she repeats outfits.
When we would go shopping, my Mom always taught us to "look at the 'cut'". She taught us to buy quality and that doesn't necessarily mean pricey or expensive.
Great article!
I love this article Mrs T. I know that to stay committed to keeping this blog fresh and new each time requires time and dedication, especially as the lovely Mrs O has been shopping her wardrobe so much of late.
It's nice to have a review of her clothes every now a then. Like or loathe her pieces, she's one in a million and I love that her uniqueness is acknowledged 😊 x
Hi Audrey! After all these years I still find it a joy to check out this blog dedicated to Mrs. O. Although, I don't comment as much I still frequent this site. I enjoy what other readers have to say and Mrs. T's concise writing. And of course Mrs.O's style!
I wonder how she keeps track of the items in her closet. Even with my small closet it is easy to forget about little gems of cloths or accessaries I have had. I have heard that she is a rigorous check-lister; she may have a good system in place.
"..Michelle Obama is a rare, and utterly authentic public figure." She absolutely is!!!
Thank you Laura-Emily for this beautiful post!!! Really wonderful and how so true that Mrs Obama has finally made it not just ok, but totally acceptable and fashionable too for women in the public eye to repeat clothes. And she does it so beautifully too!!! I also love that she wears J. Crew and other affordable brands. I especially love how she can make a simple $50 ASOS dress which will live on forever for posterity in the most tweeted photograph ever, look completely and absolutely amazing!!!
She ROCKS!!!
I really adore the wine/raspberry pumps! Reminds me of my favorite vintage piece--mohair/velvet sofa that is a similar shade (called ox blood color). I am always so architecturally/design inspired when I see Mrs. Obama's style and jewelry selections and read the comments of my friends here. Thank you!
Yes I agree, great article and I love the last paragraph. Of course Mrs O keeps fit, takes very good care of her skin, her hands and is always glowing which makes the outfits even more fabulous. Remember in the first term when we talked about dresses without stockings? well, Mrs. O showed the world how beautiful and dressy outfits look without pantyhose.
The crimson pleated dress above is an example of this. Stunning without sleeves and accessories because she makes the style more beautiful.
Even before she became first lady she was stunning from head to toe. In an interview she said "I want my daughters to see a mother who takes care of herself" that's a powerful statement to learn from as well.
Today, I had to be convincing regarding a special problem to be solved. So I needed a certain look, simple but suitable for the situation. I wore my high neck, neon coloured striped summer sleeveless top (a favourite I feel very comfortable and confident wearing).
I said to myself, Mrs. O would make sure her skin is glowing, make-up and hair in place beautifully. Ofcourse I wear wigs most of time as it’s faster. Added some sheen to my shoulders etc. etc. and felt very confident when I got to the appt. Immediately, I felt empowered and the outfit showed confidence, so they knew they had to be positive with the outcome. Definitely...when you look good you feel great and Mrs. O continues to be a role model being her best. Even on my lazy days, just looking at HER – inspires me to do the best to take care of me.
I wish she would wear red more often. I LOVE that crimson Michael Kors, the fabric and fit are perfect for her. So flattering.
I also love the simple pearls with it. I think she looks fantastic in his clothing.
It is interesting to think about her closet, I assume she has more than one -) I imagine someone on her staff catalogs outfits, and does the same for her accessories. But I do love the thought that she just walks into her closet and picks out something to wear herself.
It's also funny that you never see her (or any First Lady) pictured with a handbag, I would just enjoy seeing what styles she would choose.
I am playing catch up on these postings! Great article, Laura-Emily!
@Regina . . . we may not see Mrs. Obama often carrying her own bag, but we have seen her several times here with a purse or bag. One she has carried more than once (that I like) is a "vintage" look navy bag that I recall--often when she is leaving the White House with the President we see her with a purse/bag.