The story of Mrs O: Democratic dressing
DAPHNE GUINNESS
January 21, 2010
Sparkling ... Michelle Obama in Peter Soronen's sequinned gown and Binn's pearls. Photo: AFP Photo
Michelle Obama's mix of high glamour and chain-store chic has kept us enthralled, writes Daphne Guinness.
Fashion flash! It's OK to wear a cardie to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace, then whip it off and dine in style with the Prime Minister at No. 10 Downing Street.
Which is exactly what First Lady Michelle Obama did on her first European G20 Summit tour with the President in April 2009, tossing off her overcoat en passant.
The negative comments flew in. Oscar de la Renta let her have it full-blast ("a cardigan instead of a jacket to B.House? Pffft!") and apologised almost as suddenly. "I was just envious of the designers," he confessed, meaning Isabel Toledo, who did the black-and-ivory silk-crepe dress in question; Azzedine Alaia, who did the black cashmere cardigan; and Jason Wu, who designed the black satin coat. Sure Oscar, sure.
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Black tie ... Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama at the Nobel Banquet in Oslo, Norway in December 2009. Photo: AP Photo
Whichever way you look at it, Michelle Obama has given First Lady fashions a thorough shake-up. Not since Jackie Kennedy's formal coats and dresses, or Laura Bush's three-button blazers, or even Hillary Clinton's pant suits, has there been such a sartorial turnabout.
"The glamour is more youthful! The professional attire is more youthful! Everything has a more youthful, modern polish!" exclaims Mary Tomer, whose book Mrs O: The Face of Fashion Democracy (kick-started by her blog Mrs-O.org with 3 million hits from 221 countries) catalogues the First Lady's togs from the 2008 Democratic National Convention onward.
Tomer, 28, found herself "in love with [the First Lady's] clothes and their designers" and uses her blog and book to delve into details such as fabric swatches and accessories "in a way not seen in the fashion press".
Royal seal ... meeting the Queen in a Toledo dress and Azzedine Alaia cardigan. Photo: AP Photo
So how does Mrs Obama do it? How did she turn the White House image from dull to sexy accessible? She simply buys high- and low-end labels and mixes them inventively. She emphasised her passion for fashion in Vogue: "I love clothes. I wear what I love. I have fun with fashion." On The Tonight Show in a J.Crew low-price cardigan and skirt, she announced it was bought online. "You can get some good stuff online. When you don't have time, you've got to click."
"It was hysterical," J.Crew creative director Jenna Lyons says, on seeing Mrs O on the box in J.Crew gear.
Everyone swoons when their clothing unexpectedly appears in the public eye but it's not Mrs O who's the frock teaser. "It's the White House trying to downplay her clothes, they don't want media about her fashion," Tomer says. Phooey to that. Mrs O is her own person and reveals she dislikes pantyhose. It's solid black stockings or bare legs for her.
Enter Ikram Goldman, owner of the high-end Chicago boutique ikram, now the First Lady's unofficial stylist. Through her, designers Maria Pinto, Peter Soronen, Narciso Rodriguez, Maria Cornejo and Jason Wu are siphoned to Chicago/Washington. Thus Goldman moulds Mrs O's image of budding gardener, public speech maker, television performer and glamorous hostess.
"I don't remember seeing a First Lady looking like that," Soronen says, of her appearance while dancing with the President at the Governors' Dinner 2009, in the designer's favourite sequins-on-chiffon "Twilight" strapless gown.
"Sportswear has never entered the White House before," Michael Kors declares, of Mrs O's official portrait in his racer-back crepe-jersey shift. "Wearing a dress with an athletic inspiration? That's new."
As are the spiffy tights and Sonia Rykiel swing coat, purple scarf and gloves she wore for a night out in Chicago and Rodriguez's camel-and-black new take on the suit for a concert on the Lincoln Memorial steps.
Ditto for Mrs O's cardigans, virtually replacing the jacket. In a blue Jason Wu dress, Junya Watanabe argyle cardigan and green Jimmy Choo pumps, she hugged schoolgirls at a North London school.
"She's made fashion fun again," yodels the Chicago Tribune. "Women are taking chances they didn't a year ago, that's how influential she's become."
Brooches also take a front seat in Mrs O's style book. She plonked a peony flower on a black-and-white Donna Ricco sheath (a sell-out at $US148 from the chain store White House Black Market) when she appeared on TV's The View. "Put a pin on and you've got something great going on," she told an audience of millions. And grab a belt. Plastic, leather, fat or thin, to emphasise the waist. Can't go wrong.
But hold on. Surely all this attention to Mrs O's clothes must overshadow her good work agenda? No, Tomer says. "There's a well-rounded holistic interest in her. Fashion is just icing on the cake." The very important difference is that everyone seems to be able to identify with her.
So how have Mrs O's clothes impacted on the way Tomer creates her own look? "No. 1: her vintage brooches, I spend hours searching eBay for them. No. 2: I like Michelle's flat shoes for formals. No. 3: her solid colour, how flattering that can be; and No. 4: wearing belts to cinch [her] middle."
As we speak, she is in a New York department store, shopping for her June wedding dress. "One of Michelle's designers might be doing it - Peter Soronen."
That makes No. 5.
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Jonathan Anderson - Designer, Creative Director of JW Anderson & Christian Dior (13 Viewers)
