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Dressing to impress

Surabhi Chauhan | November 23, 2012

On the announcement of the second term for President Obama we celebrate the four years of stellar style statements made by the first lady Michelle Obama.

It is the position that you can’t contest for yet you have an entire nation, if not the world, looking upto you for inspiration and motivation. The first lady of United States of America, Michelle Obama embodies all the qualities required for the position. During Obama’s first four-year tenure, Michelle was highly respected by the public for her work. She had a new kind of stature she founded in her newly appointed role as the wife of the president. Since the very beginning her style was immediately noticed by the media and the Internet websites. She wore high street affordable brands like JCrew in colours as bright as yellow, pink, green and blue. She chose young designers who were struggling to make it big and gave them a platform to be popular instantly.

Michelle Obama’s choices in fashion have often been compared to people such as Lady Diana’s and Jackie O. People keep a hawk’s eye on her style statements and almost always are well appreciated and recommended by style experts. It is not just the title of being the first lady that has her bestowed with the title of a style icon. The former president of France Sarkozy’s wife Carla Bruni who was a renowned model before had support of one of the best fashion houses like Christian Dior dress her, but her style statements lacked the fan following that was experienced by Mrs. Obama. It was the formula of dressing in labels that most public had access to. In collections that were bought from the shops rather than specially ordered for the president’s family. This style statement made way for personal choices to shine and let the masses connect with her more.

Most recently when the president was re-elected for a second tenure, Michelle Obama repeated a Michael Kors dress, which she had worn before in 2010. Her style very well reflects the personal choices she makes. America going through a tough economic situation would not reflect well if its first lady wore couture dresses for a one-time basis. The lady wears high street labels many a times and makes a conscious decision to wear young American designers.

The American designers she has supported have gotten a sales boost like no other because of the first lady. Her style and presence is so well respected that when she chooses to wear a designer dress, the designer immediately gets hundreds of orders on the same dress. When PM Manmohan Singh visited the white house for the State dinner, Michelle Obama wore Indian— American designer Naeem Khan. She chose to wear India born designer Ranjana Khan jewellery when she visited India to give an image of the indo-american alliance in form of design. The second tenure by Obama will make way for four more years of new style statements by Michelle Obama while the world watches.

The writer is a fashion blogger (www.lovestruc kcow.blogspot.com) who attempts to bridge the gap between creator and consumer. As a fashion writer, she hopes to promote Indian fashion among Indians and on a global level too.