Why Michelle's Red Dress Just Shook The World
Michelle O. made the power statement of her political career yesterday, and she did it without uttering a word. The red dress that she wore on her first visit to the White House said it all, and it said a lot.
#1: It announced: I'm ready to be Page One, top-of-the-news-hour, insta-blog news. I'm dressed to pop off any web screen or any sheet of news spread.
There's nothing demure about a stylish red dress. Michelle was stating boldly that she acknowledged her position as The Top First Lady of The World bar none. Hear me Carla Bruni-Sarkozy--you've been surpassed as a First Lady force in the news, and yes, even as a force in fashion.
#2: The red was a not-so-subtle reminder that yes, she is a patriot. Whether she has an American flag tattooed to her forehead or not, there will be no further questioning of Michelle's feelings about her country. Yes, dressed in her favorite Chicago designer Maria Pinto, she is RED, white, and blue, so American through and through.
#3: She is powerful, but she is not threatening. There's no coincidence that Michelle chose a dress, not a suit. Ever since she began getting criticized, like many smart working women, because she seemed "too strong," Michelle has made The Dress her uniform. There's something about a woman in a suit that American men and women still find intimidating. A suit strikes them as too cold, too impersonal, and too ambitious.
All these perceptions are ridiculously unfair. They are unfair to all working women including Michelle. But the reality is that she realized that it wasn't worth fighting the battle of the working woman's perception while her husband needed to win the battle for president. It wasn't worth the distraction.
When she gave up suits for dresses, especially those shifts, her handlers also went on a campaign to reinforce her image as a mom versus an executive. It worked. Expect a lot more dresses--in fact, expect Seventh Avenue to be knocking off this fabulous red number in milliseconds.
#4: She will be Barack's Best Friend and Life Partner, not his political partner. Her dress was too feminine, even too subtly sexy, to say that she'll be sitting in cabinet meetings-she wants you to know that that won't be her M.O. The red dress says she's stepping into the First Lady role, even if she does revolutionize it. I predict she will be the most powerfully activist First Lady since Eleanor Roosevelt with her chosen causes, but with the inspirit-ability of another stylish mother of young children: Jackie Kennedy.
#5 The red dress says she's totally modern. Modern enough to choose a dress with enough curve to flatter her pear shape. Modern enough to have the confidence to stand out in red. Modern enough to understand that one dress can speak to the American people, and make many, many crucial points.
Read more from Bonnie on Michelle O. -- she's twittering about it: twitter.com/bonniefuller.
Follow Bonnie Fuller on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bonniefuller
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
Nice of you to all include your two cents worth. However, none of your comment matter. The only people who matter are Barack and the two girls. And to all of you with the nasty comments - the green eyed monster is showing. Grabb-a-hold of him and shove him back inside.
Michelle looked gorgeous as always and sports a knock out voluptuous figure. (no pears here) She makes BHO eyes shine.
The color was awful. There are pictures of her on the internet in other bright orange or red dresses with a nice contrasting color necklace which better frames her face.
The dress made her BODY "pop" but washed out her face. She is tall enough to wear different colors on the top and bottom halves and she should do that most of the time.
Her green dress (at the convention) was a better color better, but again, it too had too much length to it and takes the viewers eye FROM the face (which is stunning). The red and black dress she wore at the convention was just awful.
She looks lovely with a neckline AWAY from the neck (square or v-neck). It accents her bone structure and points to the FACE, instead of the hips (which long monocolor dresses tend to do).
She can really pull off wearing soft pastels of pink, blue, yellow, and beige. If she coupled pastel blouses (or jackets) with dark flared skirts (or straight), her whole body (INCLUDING the face) would be balanced.
Just my opinion!
Excuse me, I thought it wass tangerine, and looked wonderful on her and also next to Laura's soft brown dress. I wondered if they had co-ordinated.
Michelle Obama is fine. We see through a cultural lens, to the vast majority of black and latino men she has a beautiful, womanly body. The red dress looks good, it is not overly revealing, too tight, inappropriately sexy, etc.
Why would anyone expect her to hide her figure? It seems as if some Americans are still afraid of any hint of a true feminine physique.
Some people need to shake the puritanical streak that continues to run through the USA.
I love the way she dresses. She carries herself so well. She will definitely influence what we ladies will be wearing over the next 4 years. But I'm so anti-dress that I don't know if I can do it.
And yes, she is pear-shaped. And based on the look in Barack's eyes when he looks at her, he is clearly a pear-lover, that's for sure.
When is a red dress JUST a red dress? Never, when it's worn by someone in the political world. If you don't think thought and strategy go into even as innocuous a decision as what to wear in a photo op, you're naive.
A very down to earth woman.....
I am ALWAYS so excited to see what she will be wearing. She's going to be just as influential as Jackie! If I were a designer, she'd have free stuff pouring out of her closets!!! LOVE HER!
Red dresses and suits remind me of Nancy Reagan and all the reporters who jockeyed for Reagan's attention at press conferences. It's too costumy. With her young figure Michelle can wear anything but one shouldn't try too hard with clothes. I thought Palin's look was the best woman's political look I've seen in years and it doesn't have to cost much.
No. It doesn't have to cost too much. Just 150K.
"Palin's look" ???? oh, gag me.
Michelle's look is just right for our First Lady! I loved the red, and everything else she wears.
Michelle needs to work on her posture. She has a tendency to lurch forward.
I agree. She's gorgeous but sometimes she has the bearing of a woman who used to be overweight and hasn't quite emotionally let go of her fat self. (I'm told this about myself all the time....)
I see it as someone who is a bit self-conscious about being so tall. A lot of tall women try to minimize their height, especially when they are standing next to their husband who isn't quite as tall.
I keep thinking a Pilates class would do wonders for her.
No should does not. DOn't be jealous.
"Pear-shape"? Not the woman I'm looking at. She is classic hourglass, with
broad shoulders, narrow waist. Jeeeeeeez.
Ditto, in no way is this woman "pear shaped". To be that tall and "pear shaped" she'd have to wear full skirts to cover her hips, not the well fitted numbers she can get away with. And it should be remembered, she is an attorney, with two children, in her forties, not a 17 year old ballerina, for goodness sakes.
I agree. She is very well proportioned......
I personally admire any woman who wears a dress red or otherwise. It takes less time to find matching tops, etc and as a working mother time is always of the essence
To me, Michelle Obama is beautiful because she's intelligent. I'm attracted to someone's brain.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
