When Jackie Kennedy, accompanied by President Kennedy, arrived in Paris in May, 1961 on an official presidential trip, she was greeted by cheering crowds chanting "Vive Jackie!" The French admired her youth, beauty, grace and charm. But what made them fall in love with her was that she seemed so, well, French.
An unrepentant Francophile, Jackie had a degree in French literature, spoke fluent French and preferred the French pronunciation of her name: Jachleen. She arrived in Paris in a navy shantung suit by Chez Ninon, a chichi Park Avenue dressmaker that supplied her with copies of French couture, which she wore throughout the trip - except, that is, when she was wearing real Givenchy.
Now, almost half a century later, another American First Lady has swept triumphantly into France, this time swathed in black and fuchsia silk by the young, Thailand-born U.S. designer Thakoon Panichgul. The crowds have been as enthusiastic for Michelle Obama as they were for Jackie Kennedy, and the press as fawning. An article that ran on the web site for the Parisian newspaper L'Express was typical: Headlined, "The Ten Commandments of Michelle Obama's Style," it celebrated the First Lady's love of bright colors, pointed shoes, and bold accessories. All the clothes she's worn so far on the trip (with the exception of some Azzedine Alaia and an argyle sweater by the Japanese Junya Watanabe) are by American designers, including Michelle's favorite multi-culti design posse of the Cuban born Isabel Toldeo, the Taiwanese born Jason Wu, and Thakoon.
Could it be the French are ceding ground they've passionately clung to for more than 300 years? Are they admitting that when it comes to style, their authority is no longer absolute?
The fact that Michelle arguably outshone Carla Bruni, the wife of French President Nicholas Sarkozy and a former fashion mannequin at the first ladies' much anticipated first meeting -- on French soil no less -- is testament to Obama star power. At ceremonies at Strasbourg's Rohan palace during the second leg of the G20 Summit, Carla and Michelle both wore coats with bows, an uncanny coincidence suggesting they were channeling the same fashion fairy. Otherwise, they looked completely different. Carla's demure gray lambskin seemed downright boring next to Michelle's vibrant black silk dotted with fuchsia flowers. But it wasn't until the coats came off that Michelle's elegance really gleamed. Her slim fitting, three quarter sleeve fuchsia dress looked exactly right. It combined Asian elements with a whimsical femininity and completely washed out Carla's subdued gray sheath.
One gets the sense that Carla is dressing not to please herself but to conform to an idea of who she should be. Sarkozy has been quoted saying he hoped his wife would be the new Diana. There's not much chance of that, for no matter how often Carla is photographed in understated, traditional French clothes, the Italian born heiress can't obliterate her racy past of liaisons with rock stars (including the married Mick Jagger), and the nude photos of her on the internet.
Not only do Michelle's clothes project an authentic self -- confident, healthy, smart, uncynical -- they also reflect the spirit of the moment. There is something new in the air, a kind of youthful openness. Barack Obama harnessed it and rode it to the White House. And you can see it on the street, in the way young women wear their flirty skirts with bare legs and colorful handbags, the way they pair tank tops with fringed scarves and tuck their jeans into sleek boots.
Seismic social and economic shifts, like the ones we are experiencing now, often lead to fashion revolutions. After World War I, women shed their corsets and cut their hair, liberating themselves from restraining fashion, just as they freed themselves from Victorian ideas of women's subservience. Twenty-five years later, sick of the drab, skimpy clothes they'd worn throughout WWII, women turned the clock back to the Belle Epoque and embraced the opulent femininity of Christian Dior's New Look.
Today, in the wake of the Wall Street implosion there's a new kind of glamour, one that is relaxed, fun and accessible to all, and it's embodied by Michelle Obama. Even the First Lady's occasional style missteps don't disqualify her as a Fashion Star. Old Guard arbiters of chic like Oscar de la Renta might excoriate her for wearing a humble sweater to Buckingham Palace. And the London Daily Mail might tease her for letting the line of her body slimming underwear, what the Brit's call "magic pants," show through the fabric of her J.Crew skirt. But the truth is, the old rules no longer apply, and the snarky comments don't stick.
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The same can be said of Michelle Obama and both women deserve more than Barbie Doll gushing from the fashionista vanguard.
Considering Michelle's body build, it doesn't suprise me that she has chosen American designers. What does surprise me is that she never chooses any of our top designers, not that there is anything wrong with this, at all. I'm just surprised. For example, Kors is the KING of sheath dresses, and our First Lady loves sheath dresses. I'm surprised she doesn't wear any Kors. I wonder, if she's making decisions based on where the clothing is made--choosing clothing made in the U.S., for example, over clothing made overseas, which much of Kors is--or trying to give credit to less-known designers because that's the kind of woman she is. I don't know. But, again, it doesn't really matter because she's beautiful and dresses well.
One ot the Cardigans, dresses, and pencil skirts she wore was from the micheal kors collection....
Michelle, she arrived in France, she was new, now she's JUST ONE OF THE REST. The more that is made of her style, the more the spotlight shines on her BIG MISTAKES. Give it rest.
Personally, I find her choices fascinating; admittedly, sometimes I wince, but the more she surprises us, the more I love her and her fashion. It's all starting to gel for me and in a most endearing way. Europe loves Michelle. I am proud of our prez and First Lady.
Puleeze. Mrs. Obama's attempt to become a walking maniken for every crackpot, incompetent, tasteless wanabee American designer has her looking worse then Ladybird Johnson, Laura Bush, and throw in Barbara Bush too. Wearing outsized bows, high-waist belts, horrendous use of color, kitten heels, and eye-popping prints have Michelle looking like Lurch on a psychedelic rampage after popping too many peyote buttons. Contrast her look with Carla Bruni's of understated elegance, tres chic, gorgeous color. Bruni is etherial, Michelle is space junk!
While I don't like everything Mrs. O wears, I'm *thrilled* to see her use a lot of color and take chances even if some of her choices (like the bow) don't always work.
Go Michelle!
If they'd spent their time worrying about the opinions of others, they'd still be plodding along trying to figure out who they really are.
If you have a room filled with one thousand people, you'll have one thousand different opinions about any subject you bring up. It's the ones who believe in themselves and follow their own dreams, that leave the rest of us in the dust.
No one cares anymore, but the same thing with "how sexist Hillary was treated"
remember? All people would talk about was Hillary's hair or outfits, etc and that was SO SEXIST....
...cuz a bunch of really sexist male pigs are....sitting around wondering what Michelle or Hillary are wearing or how they've done their hair today....
HELLO?
Ladies, the reason you get all of these SEXIST stories is because women read them. Period.
How either the French dress, on the lovely Michelle Obama decides to dress, is about as important in the grand scheme of things, as Jackie O's pilbox hats were to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
I understand some folks really care about this stuff, but Michelle can wear a potato sack for all I care, if her husband gets national health care enacted.