thoughts on style

For all of us whose eyes were not on Obama during his inauguration into the presidency today, surely our eyes were on Michelle Obama, in her sequined, bejeweled Isabel Todelo dress and tonal green leather gloves and Jimmy Choos. According to Cathy Horyn of the New York Times, “Ms. Toledo…said the coat and dress were made of Swiss wool lace, backed with netting for warmth and lined in French silk. “I wanted to pick a very optimistic color, that had sunshine,” she said.” (www.nytimes.com, About the Dress). Though I adored Ms. Obama’s dress, the color palette, and her accessories, I thought the jacket was a little much - a little stiff, but it could have been all the beading/sequins. In my personal opinion, a little less could have meant a little more today. That said, she still looked stunning to me.

We have at least four years ahead of us as a nation (and a world) to observe, compliment and sometimes critique the style of the first lady, but what does it all matter to America, with so many more important issues to deal with? Well according to Women’s Wear Daily, a lot. WWD stated today that “For better or worse, style has always impacted the presidency, never more so than now, an age of instant, 24/7 media coverage. Each gesture, each inflection, each lean Hartmarx suit impart meaning." (WWD, The Obama Momentum: Smarts, Style Create A New Kind of Power). And already, we’ve seen Michelle Obama in a range of styles and designers, every which one chronicled in countless news reports, blogs and even fashion magazines. She proudly wore an ensemble by mass market purveyor J.Crew to her appearance on Jay Leno, wore an extremely chic camel and black Narciso Rodriguez number to inauguration events on 1/19, and is a big fan of Chicago designer Maria Pinto.

To put it briefly, Michelle Obama’s style has hit Washington like a coup d’etat. Let’s just hope Barack can do the same.