"I first met Mrs. Obama at an impromptu dinner at Oprah Winfrey's house in Santa Barbara, California, on the eve of the divine Ms. O's Legends Ball in 2005. I was seated between the then Senator Barack Obama's wife and Tina Turner. Do I remember what Michelle was wearing? Not at all. What I do remember was how informed she was on so many topics. And when she said she actually knew who I was, I was so flattered my jaw dropped."
The disconnect is so apparent in that paragraph, I find Michelle Obama an inspiring and memorable FIrst Lady not because of what she wears but because of what comes out of her mouth. Her mind, intelligence, demeanor and fearless-ness are far more inspiring traits than the clothes she chooses to wear. That's why the fashion industry's obsession with trying to turn her into another woman who only cares about clothes is so annoying to me.
"What Michelle Obama is less focused on—in direct inverse proportion to the focus of the public—is fashion. Which isn't to say that she doesn't appreciate good clothes. Or that the fashion choices of a woman whose image will shortly be—or already is—among the most recognizable in the entire world aren't iconic. And thus far, those choices have been fearless. Every moment she sallies forth, she will be scrutinized, then alternately set on a pedestal or skewered."
Its too bad that what she wears will be more coverage and recognition than the policies she wants to work on and promote. Just because of her gender the media has already put her into this box, she's a woman she MUST like clothes and we will only pay attention to that because that's what other women are interested in and relate to -.-;
What I find most exciting about Michelle Obama being in the public eye is that she is an example of a fiercely intelligent woman who isn't afraid to tease her husband and doesn't fawn at him and take a back seat. We see so few examples of women like that in media that I wish her narrative would be more about her brain rather than her wardrobe. But hopefully in time her endeavors as First Lady will get the attention they deserve.
Read the entire Vogue article here
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