In celebration of my fourth blogaversary, I salute former First Lady Michelle Obama. Today, I serenade Mrs. O because she represented style and substance.
I know I’m not the only one who couldn’t keep their eyes off Michelle when she exploded on the scene in 2007. That was when Barack Obama, then just a junior Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for President of the United States.
Let’s Look Back at Michelle Obama’s Style:
I recall that historic day in 2008 when Michelle strolled down Pennsylvania Avenue amidst the pomp and circumstance with her husband, the newly elected President of the United States. Who could forget the fabulous Isabel Toledo lemongrass lace ensemble?
And those coordinating J. Crew green gloves and Jimmy Choo heels! The power of the First Lady’s endorsement of wearing J. Crew drove many of us, myself included, to shop at J. Crew. I remember JCrew.com crashed when we all learned that’s where we could buy the grass-green leather gloves she was wearing. I became a die-hard J. Crew aficionado.
A study found that her early patronage of J. Crew and Target was worth an average of $14 million to each company.
To keep up with FLOTUS early on, I followed the first blog dedicated to Michelle’s style, Mrs-O.org. Michelle wasn’t just another first lady but a Princeton graduate with a law degree from Harvard who hailed from a working-class family in Chicago, Illinois.
Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy chose fashion Oleg Cassini as her go-to stylist, Nancy Reagan, John Galanos, Laura Bush, Oscar del la Renta but Michelle brought exposure to many different fashion designers.
5 Designers Michelle Obama put on the global spotlight among the many others not mentioned here:
1. Jason Wu, a Taiwanese-born designer
2. Tracy Reese, an African American Fashion designer
3. Thakoon Panichgul, aThai-American designer
4. Sophie Theallet, a New York-based French designer
5. Brandon Maxwell, an American designer from East Texas
Let’s take a look back at the dresses she wore to State Dinners at the White House:
And all the times she wasn’t afraid to wear prints:
Or pantsuits:
… Michelle’s love of belts:
And the sheath dress:
Michelle first appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine in March 2009, with a photo spread, and again in the December 2016 issue. Every First Lady since Lou Hoover (except Bess Truman) has been in Vogue, but only Hillary Clinton had previously appeared on the cover before Michelle.
And more importantly, Michelle had style and substance.
Below are some of her core messages and platforms she championed as First Lady:
She supported the troops, creating awareness for our veterans, military families, their wives, and children.
The Obamas planted a vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House on March 20, 2009, to encourage Americans to increase healthy food choices.
Michelle inspired Americans to move to raise a healthier generation of children.
Michelle launched Let Girls Learn in March 2015 to help teens attain a quality education and enable them to reach their full potential.
I admire how Michelle changed the socially acceptable paradigm with her bare legs and toned bare arms. She was not afraid to share her life; she has mastered all social media platforms and is a renaissance woman. Did you see her on The Late Late Show when she did carpool karaoke with James Corden?
Michelle isn’t just a trendsetter but a wife and, as a mother, an excellent example of keeping her daughters out of the spotlight. She will leave a lasting legacy that we will remember forever.
Thank you, Michelle. God bless you, Barack, Malia, Sasha, Grandma Robinson, Bo, and Sunny.
Have a fabulous and stylish week.
She was a jewel to our nation. I look forward to her next chapter.
Glenda,
Hi! It’s so sweet to hear from you. I agree Michelle is a jewel and I look forward to her next chapter as well.
Thank you for this. I know whatever she does will be fabulous but I still sorely miss her and President Obama leading us.