Advertisement

Michelle Obama has a smashing fashion tour in Europe

FIRST LADIES: Michelle Obama, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
FIRST LADIES: Michelle Obama, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.
(MANDEL NGAN, AFP/Getty Images)
Share
Fashion Critic

She wore American designers ( Jason Wu, Thakoon) and European (Azzedine Alaia, Moschino), Japanese (Junya Watanabe) and J.Crew. Watching her in Europe, it became clear that getting dressed is much more than an official duty for First Lady Michelle Obama.

This is a woman who loves clothes.

When she met French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy at the NATO summit luncheon in Strasbourg, France, it wasn’t much of a fashion smackdown after all. Both women stuck to their pet designers -- Thakoon for Obama and Christian Dior for Bruni-Sarkozy. No surprises there.

Obama’s shiny rose print sheath dress hugged every curve and said, “I’m not afraid to show my sexuality.” By contrast, Sarkozy’s dove gray leather coat and dress, her gamin-like flats and structured purse seemed designed to make her disappear into the palace decor. The fit and color made the Thakoon dress, worn with a matching coat in a reverse of the rose print, Obama’s best look of the trip, seconded by the black Alaïa pantsuit with woven seams that she wore in Strasbourg.

Advertisement

In Prague, Obama’s white Moschino bow-front blouse, partly obscured by a belted black cardigan, proved that sometimes she’d do better to leave the sweater at home. But in general, her clothes were an image-boosting hit.

She rose above the outmoded notion that an American first lady must wear only American-made clothes, helping to underscore her husband’s “we are all in this together” global message. Obama stayed true to herself, her signatures (the triple-strand pearls, the low-heeled pumps) and designers she’s had success with before, giving even wider exposure to a new generation of American talents.

But Women’s Wear Daily reports that Seventh Avenue stalwarts such as Oscar de la Renta and Vera Wang are getting jealous. They have a point. If Obama is going to be a one-woman fashion bailout, she’ll need to keep branching out.

And now, there is evidence that she’s doing just that. On the cover of the May issue of Essence magazine, she poses with her mom in a blue silk rose print Talbots dress. Could Obama do for Talbots what she’s done for J.Crew? The style is on sale for $126.75 on the Talbots website.

booth.moore@latimes.com

Advertisement