Robin Givhan: Dress Repeats Signal The End Of Michelle Fashion-Mania

Washington Post:

Finally, it may be that fashion enthusiasts have become accustomed to the sight of a first lady who rarely wears suits, who prefers her dresses form-fitting and who has, perhaps, never seen a brooch that she could resist.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[ElsaIndy]

Mrs. Obama has to spend money on clothing. I think she buys her own clothing. It is a good thing she is a wealthy woman. All First Ladies are wealthy women.

MO has made a point of telling us she does not care what anyone, presumably the American public, thinks of her clothing choices, she will wear whatever she wants. Rather aggressive assertion made very early in the campaign before most people knew even who she was. Since people express themselves through their clothing I am looking to see what she is expressing about herself. I am not sure what she is saying about herself through her clothing.

Appearances do matter and I think MO and BO are sometimes tonedeaf to the impression they are making at this time when the economic meltdown is affecting the whole country. Of course we hear from Biden that the administration underestimated the economic crisis which does not help. The expensive sneakers to feed the homeless, the family vacations taken during official business abroad, the lavish date nights in Paris, Prague, Moscow and NYC all contribute to an appearance of being oblivious to the disastrous economic nightmare that is strangling this country.

Our First Lady comes across to me as rather incoherent.

[twistedrascal]

u are a waste of a human life

[Meah]

No, that would be you, actually. Your argument makes no sense.

[coco51]

ElsaIndy,
Do you buy brand name or generic foods at the supermarket? If brand I bet you have neighbors who wish they could, yet I doubt they think you live a rather "lavish" lifestyle.
These lavish vacations and date nights you refer to in Paris, Prague, Moscow and NYC do you know who has paid for them? If they paid, is that bad for the economy?

[Manchesterian]

I think the way Michelle Obama dresses says I have two advanced degrees; I have achieved great professional heights through my own efforts. I am a mother raising two healthy, balanced children. I am not an appendage to my husband; I am his equal and then some.

I love and am proud of who I am: race, size, height, mind set, spiritually, the way I dress, I am not a Barbie....­clothes does not make this woman, I made this woman.

I will define my own personal world especially in regards to what I wear, while still making a substantive contribution to America and the world.

Hear my voice and my thoughts first and look at my clothes second or not at all.

I became the woman that my ancestors, my family and the feminist movement could only dream that their efforts could have made possible.

I think they would be and am proud of how I choose to reflect them in the way I am me.

And last but not least, why should I dress like I am a princess, when I am Michele Obama - American working mother and representative of all American women, not just the .5% who can spend the budgets of a small country on a wardrobe.

I am a capable phenomenal and conscious woman regardless of what I wear. I am intelligent and capable enough to speak for me; my clothes are just along for the ride.

[peacekitten]

excellent.

[osusana]

BRAVO!!

[DaisyDooks]

I LOVE this post!

[coco51]

Goddammit, you've nailed it. I'm chuffed!!!

[Sabreen60]

Perfect !!

[method]

And I believe we should all be tone deaf to your comments because you speak like one that lacks expression yourself..­.expressio­n of any meaning.

[igorz]

One year of Mrs. Obama's clothing budget is likely less than ONE outfit from Mrs. McCain.

The more important point, however, is that this is just about the most inane, shallow, disgustingly trite topic EVER on this website.

HuffPo is better than this. Now please prove it.

[FloridaLady131722]

IGORZ, you are so right. Mrs McCold outfits range from $500 up.

[Joyana]

Well, after all, she's a beer heiress. And w/ all the beer bellies in the US, she's deep in dough!

[ImagesbyMagoe]

Michelle has her own style..Who knows if she pays for her garments or not..Remem­ber that many garments and accessories may be given to her by designers.­.
Nevertheless, it's not what she wears that defines her character.­.She doesn't need clothes to look, feel or be accepted by anyone. Whether Michelle dresses up or down, nothing can take away from her personalit­y..This is what matters most!

[DaisyDooks]

And nothing can take away from her scholarship.

For some people, it's all smoke and mirrors. They use clothes to project an outer appearance, a certain image as a cover-up for their flaws and human frailties. And, then there are those whose attire reflects who and what they are on the inside. They MAKE the clothes, not the other way around. The FLOTUS falls into the latter category.

[msoverall]

First Ladies are not allowed to accept clothes from designers, they are allowed to BORROW and RETURN ( during the Reagan administration, Nancy got herself in BIG trouble for accepting clothes). The Obamas have made a point of paying their own living expenses which includes their clothing. That is shy she mixes mid-range higher end clothing with clothes from places like the Gap and JCrew. If she continually dropped money on Valention, Balenciaga, Armani and the like, everyone would want her head on a platter. She is dressing according to HER budget, just like the rest of us. Why is it news that a person might actually have to wear something more than once.

[coco51]

I believe Mrs. Obama is quite aware of the backlash she'd experience if the clothes she wears are "donated" by designers. Can you imagine Talbots (bastion of upper-white-aging women establishment) calling the White House to enquire if the African-American First Lady, wanna wear a few of their togs? lol!!!

[msoverall]

Actually the floral dress she wore on the last trip( which she wore on the cover of Essence) is from Talbots. Talbots is not that expensive, the dress I believe is under 200.

[barackobama4prez]

I love you FLOTUS! I appreciate fashion, but I can appreciate a real, down-to-earth American even more. Let the bloggers and naysayers complain all they want. Who cares.

[Gail Edwards]

I think in this time of economic crisis, when so many Americans are out of work and losing their homes, losing everything they own, in some cases, it is in very poor taste for Michelle Obama to be seen clutching a purse that cost $5950.

I think it is ridiculous that any purse should cost that amount. It's just a purse. The fact that she has bought into this notion of showing off her wealth by purchasing items that cost this much, makes her look gullible, cold, and callous.

She may think that it impresses some people; and, indeed, it may. But I doubt if it impresses the people she is supposed to represent who are losing their jobs and their homes. How many house payments could that purse buy? Car payments? Doctor visits or medication? How many groceries to feed your family?

Showing off when the nation is in good economical health is one thing; It is quite another when a great many of us are struggling to get by each month on unemployment benefits.

[JustLucky]

It was the manufacturer of a $5950 bag who reported that she had been carrying it - but the White House responded that it was not that one at all but a patent leather one. The manufacturer originally stuck with their claim and then backed down and admitted they had made an assumption and misidentified it.

[DaisyDooks]

Are you also concerned about the brand of toilet paper she uses? I mean, in this economic crisis, is it appropriate to use high end, fluffy 'n soft tissue versus a generic store brand?

Give me a break. Mind your OWN business and stop worrying about or trying to control others' purse strings.

[coco51]

Gail, in this economy it's a good thing when a business gets a customer to purchase an article for $5 or $5950. On September 11, 2001 we were are asked to "get out and shop" it seems to me that the First Lady is doing something to maintain the economy, $500 shoes or $5950 bags. More power to her if she can afford both, she's doing more than I to maintain the economy. I don't have a problem with her spending HER money, why do you?

Suggestion check the 10 Commandments:
Jealousy/Envy
Matt 7:1 "Do not judge, so that you may not be judged."
Commandment #10 - Thou shalt not covet...

[HenriEnCroute]

Tell me, Gail, how did you feel about Nancy Reagan in those Chanel suits? And can anyone remember ANYTHING that Laura Bush ever wore?

[Petals]

There you go lying again.

[OverIt]

Get a grip! She wore it for a flight home in the middle of the night!

[Gail Edwards]

No, you are wrong. I saw a photo of her walking in Russia in broad daylight toting it around. I'll get a grip when I get a job. Rather than spending so much time putting on fasion shows, the Obamas should concentrate on getting this country back in order.

Spend. Spend. Spend. That's all they have done since they came to office. Broadway shows at tax-payer expense. Parading around with $6000 handbags.

Shame on them.

[nanton29]

' Parading around with $6000 handbags.'


You never complained about Bush hunting and bycling around Crawford while the body bags from Iraq were filling up army aircrafts.­..

[DaisyDooks]

My, my, my, you must have the inside scoop. How DO you distinguish what the First Family has acquired from tax payers or from personal funds?

[msoverall]

His books have made millions of dollars and she was a six-figure earning executive, they can afford to buy whatever they want and it's none of your business. They pay for their own clothes, their decorating, even their own food in the Whitehouse. We're all paying for GW Bush's reign of incompetence, where's your outrage over that?

[JustLucky]

It was the manufacturer of a $5950 bag who reported that she had been carrying it - but the White House responded that it was not that one at all but a patent leather one. The manufacturer originally stuck with their claim and then backed down and admitted they had made an assumption and misidentified it.

[akababs]

The Obamas earn a salary and can buy whatever they damn well please. I suppose you would do the same if you had a job.

[KATAKATA]

We Americans are just stupid. When the GOP spends on Palin we whine,and when Michelle saves tax payer dollers the same GOP pays fashion dudes to write articles that cause us whine. What in essence do we want?

[OverIt]

I get your point but how is Michelle saving TAX PAYER dollars? The First Family pays for their own clothes.

[barackobama4prez]

Uh, that's precisely how she's saving the tax payers some $$$????

[JustLucky]

What a strange article...

[PamperedHousecat]

All this talk about MO wearing the same outfit twice! Does ya think her husband POTUS might wear the same suit twice? the same shirt? the same tie?
We are in a recession! We should ALL be wearing the same clothes twice, and save our money to pay for our private health insurance plans.

[Punchumgum]

Why should Mrs Obama buy 10 new frocks every week just for other peoples' entertainment?

[Womanvoter4Obama]

Well to me it makes her more like us. I did try to not wear the same thing for a month and came really close to succeeding, I have a lot of clothes but I like certain things and I like to wear them repeatedly­..in other words I'm normal.

[moda31]

how dare she wear the same thing twice?!? that's what normal people do!
what will become of the folks in DC if the obamas continue to insist on not acting as though they are that special? soon we'll be expecting poor little senators, and a myriad of lowly political hacks to get over their inflated senses of self...obv­iously we can't have that.

[weatherwaxx]

If she never wore the same dress twice, the critics would be quacking about her being spendthrift. If she does, it's a fashion blunder.

That's a huge pile of buII. Why shouldn't she wear clothes she likes more than once, just like the rest of us do? She knows she's setting an example to her kids, too, and the Obamas have said many times they want the girls to have as normal a life as possible. Disposable clothes isn't normal.

[t iessa]

I don't think she's worn that many brooches.

[Epiphany2b]

Maybe they have her confused with Hillary.

[graceland9]

I can't get enough of Michelle's outfits. If you, too, want more, go to:

http://michelleobamawatch.com/category/fashion/