"Women, wear what you love. That's all you can say. That's my motto.
It's nice to have on a nice suit. But it's nicer to change a
generation, in terms of their health. It's a better use of my time to
focus on rallying this country around our military families. I mean,
there's so much that I hope to do in this role, that makes a
difference in people's lives."
-Michelle Obama
For more on this issue, read this.
Five years of raising awareness for New York's Garment Center have
been rendered irrelevant by one statement. What Michelle Obama
chooses to wear can save and create American jobs. Her influence on
the American fashion industry does not detract from her agenda in the
East Wing. The First Lady can support her causes and simultaneously
support a valuable American industry and the thousands of people it
employs. I wish she would rethink her statement.
As First Lady, Michelle Obama is the second most visible
representative of the American people. She has done so much for
American fashion already. The prime example is what she did by
wearing Jason Wu to the Inauguration. With one simple choice, Michelle
Obama catapulted the career of a young American designer and generated
demand, business, awareness, and jobs for an American company. This
decision put Jason Wu on the map.
I admire Michelle Obama's compassion and respect her work, and would
like to see her continue wearing domestic brands on the international
stage. Wearing that nice suit she mentioned can make a world of
difference in people's lives. She can embrace her role as a fashion
icon and use it to help an industry that is in danger of leaving our
shores permanently.
Like all businesses in America, fashion needs support from its
leadership. It's important for Americans to buy American-made
products, and we look to our First Lady and the President to set that
standard. When she wears an American designer to a high profile
international event she communicates to the world that the American
fashion industry is significant and relevant. That makes a
difference.
The fashion houses are but a drop in the bucket if you want to chat about overseas production and American jobs lost. Blame Carly Fiornia for outsourcing 30,000 jobs at HP overseas.
It's one flippin dress! How many hundreds of thousands, millions of electronics do we use everyday that say Made in China or Made in (fill in the blank) and not in the USA.
"U.S. Trade Deficit Widened by 33% in 2010"
The U.S. trade deficit ballooned in 2010 by the largest amount seen in a decade.
Imports from China hit record levels.
The deficit with China was the largest imbalance the U.S. has ever recorded with one country.
The current unemployment rate, measured using 1980 standards to include the long-term discouraged, is at least 22.2%.
Washington will admit a 16.1% U6 rate, which means 8.4 job seekers for every opening.
This is what happens when American consumers buy too many foreign products.
Duh.
Not long ago, this nation would have never considered doing business in China. After all it was, and still is, an authoritarian government, run by the communist party. It has a terrible human rights record, and controls, and suppresses all media including the internet, at will. However once big American multinational corporations realized they could make huge profits from often times, abused, Chinese workers, there was no stopping them. So much for patriotism!
We all love and respect the First Lady. She has done many wonderful things for the industry. I would consider this to be a missed opportunity, and leave at that.
Also I know for a fact that in the past Nanette Lepore has reached out to many designers in an effort to bring back some, even a few styles, to the Garment Center. If that were done, it would insure jobs, and a healthy Garment Center for future fashion designers in America. Perhaps we should all e-mail, text, twitter, or facebook this idea to all those big name brands.
One thing more. I would like to advise everyone to Google "The Fifty Cent Party" it employs over 300,000 people. It is run by the Chinese government. These people are paid fifty cents for each reply to comments made, on the internet, that may be negative to China.Thus, always consider the source when you are having on line discussions like this.
We had such a lovely, vibrant tradition of American textile manufacturing. But it wasn't the First Lady that closed my Nonni's dress factory or preferred child labor over good ole American workers...it was corporate owned fashion houses and sellout designers......except for the rare people like Lepore that is trying to bring it back.
However, Lepore's tactics here.....epic fail.
http://www.hbo.com/documentaries/schmatta-rags-to-riches-to-rags/index.html
Considering how the Obamas outclass their critics at every hand, I am going with this point. To me, it is just stunning, and looks perfect on her!
She wore a designer that's decease to the state of the union now you got these followers that call themselves designers coming after MO....what's the problem...serious what is bringing this own...green of envy Nanette Lepore stop being a follower and lead maybe you would've been better being quiet.....
Whether clueless or traitorous, Michelle sets a bad example for a generation of Americans who don't understand a trade deficit, much less the origin of their own country's wealth.
George Washington made a special point of wearing only American-manufactured garments to his inauguration--right down to the last button.
Abraham Lincoln continued to lead:
"If we purchase a ton of steel rails from England for twenty dollars, then we have the rails and England the money. But if we buy a ton of steel rails from an American for twenty-five dollars, then America has the rails and the money both."
Steel rails, designer dresses--no difference. The question is always: Whose economy--whose children's future--do we want to support?
We don't have to spend our consumer dollars to promote sweatshops, slave labor, child labor, toxic pollution, and enemy regimes that do not wish us well.
When you hear the words "free trade," realize this usually means unfettered access to the American consumer--perhaps the largest single economic force in the world.
Why shouldn't we American consumers help our own economy--for a change?
Suppose every American simply reallocated 1 dollar per day, spending 1 dollar less on foreign-made goods, and 1 dollar more on American-made goods. After a year, we’d have 110 billion dollars, which could mean more than 2 million new jobs paying $50,000 per year.
Other factors are involved—costs, profits, US vs. foreign ownership—but the principle stays true, so let’s keep this simple and make our point. Even one dollar per day can make a big difference.
Reallocate ten dollars per person per day—from foreign to American-made goods—and in a year we’d have 1.1 trillion dollars, or potentially more than 20 million new jobs paying $50,000 per year.
Why stop there?
Financial crisis solved. Unemployment solved. Our future: safe, secure, and back in our own hands.
It’s much simpler than we’re being told.
Apparently, we’ve been listening to the wrong people.
jim lepore disparages the president? kissing up was he?
or just trying to work with what the hand he's got.
the rant was way too pitchy dog
her work as first lady is much important than what she wears
so yea, what ev
To Obama's credit, and the chagrin of many conservatives, he saved the US auto industry. Too bad NYC's fashion industry doesn't seem to be on his radar...
Get over it. She should wear what she likes. Love her.
Ms. Lepore is the exception to the industry standard because the industry has cultivated its retail audience to expect goods sold at a cheap price -- even home sewers cannot compete against jackets and shirts made abroad since retail fabric prices continue to skyrocket. And yet, I have yet to see Ms. Lepore call out her fellow CFDA members on this topic the same way she has Michelle Obama, who is not an employee of the fashion industry last time I checked. All Ms. Obama did was to wear a dress she liked -- like any other woman in the US does.
The state of the American clothing industry did not collapse overnight -- I suggest that people read "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster" by Dana Thomas in order to understand just how culpable the fashion industry is in killing its own industry in the US.
Until the New York fashion industry actually decides to design for women over the age of 25 who are not a size 2 I will continue to not care what you or Oscar de La Renta or Diane Von Furstenburg have to say.
Until I see more normal sized models or women of color or models who are not 15 on the runway and in magazines I will disregard your opinions.
I agree with the First Lady...they are just clothes ladies, wear what you love and stop worrying about what "fashion insiders" say.
F and f.