Michelle Obama charms with youthful charisma, chic fashions

read more about this amazing woman

That makes some sense. The incoming presidential couple, Barack and Michelle Obama, bear superficial resemblance to John and Jacqueline Kennedy of the 1960s Camelot White House — charisma, vigor, her fondness for sheath dresses, for instance.

(picture under cc-license by zoepf )

But maybe the most obvious similarity is that many Americans are as excited and curious about her as they are about him.

“People will be riveted,” predicts Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist and CNN analyst. “She is going to set a record in the amount of attention she will receive.”

President John F. Kennedy once jokingly introduced himself, during a news media-frenzied visit to France, as “the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris.” Some day, the president-elect may have occasion to say the same.

Americans are seeking to learn more about Michelle Obama and sort out what kind of first lady she might be.

The role of first lady

“The first lady has always been a helpmate and sounding board for the president, his most trusted adviser, and that’s always a given,” said Ann Stock, a White House social secretary under President Bill Clinton.

read more…

First-time first ladies can make fashion faux pas

i love the pictures

When Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton arrived at the White House, they brought with them styles that suited their hometowns in Texas and Arkansas, but that wouldn’t have held up in any fashion capital.

Tastemakers have higher hopes for Michelle Obama, who is expected to fill her closet at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with sophisticated styles that match her modern image but maintain the sensibility inherent to Chicago.

The image of Obama walking the inaugural parade route in something like the domed, wide-brimmed hat that has haunted Clinton since 1993 seems unlikely. And she probably won’t show up to the inaugural ball in mother-of-the-bride-style gowns with dyed-to-match pumps like Bush has worn — twice.

Over time, both Clinton and Bush did grow more accustomed to their new surroundings, and their wardrobe reflected that.

For example, Bush wore a Sunday-best peacock blue coat with sensible shoes to the chilly inaugural ceremony in 2001, but chose a chic winter-white coat ensemble with camel-colored high heels — a top pick of fashion insiders — in 2005.

Clinton also chose a modern, luxe gold lace gown by Oscar de la Renta for her second tour of inaugural balls unlike the fussy purple princess number the first go-around. (Remember the sparkly belt buckle?)

Still, Bush and Clinton fit into the expectations of what earlier generations thought a president’s wife should look like. Obama has the opportunity to break the mold.

read more…

‘Elegant Obama’ inspires fashion label

this is really great!

Barack Obama’s elegance and fashion sense has inspired a Bosnian company to name a new line of men’s business suits after the US president-elect.

“We chose the name Obama” for the suits, which were already selling well in Bosnia and neighbouring Croatia, said Ahmet Curic, a manager at Borac, the company that produces the outfits.

“It’s a line of top quality business suits, and naming it Obama was an obvious choice because the president-elect is clearly a very elegant man and one of a few who knows how to wear a suit,” he told AFP.

Curic added Borac also wanted to “pay respect” to the United States for providing the company with funds to help restart production after Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war.

read more…

Iran’s youths would back Barack Obama over Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Let´s hope the youth in Iran will have it´s say

If Iran’s Westernised youths were given the choice of Barack Obama or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a free election, an overwhelming majority would back the American.

That, at least, may be the sneaking suspicion of Tehran’s ossified leaders who harbour a gnawing, corrosive mistrust of their own people. Why else would they obsessively screen candidates in their bogus elections to prevent the annoyingly popular liberal reformers from standing?

Yet in a nation where two thirds of the population are younger than 30, Iran’s authorities have almost ended their fruitless efforts to ban satellite dishes. They turn a blind eye while countless teenagers enjoy American films and music.

advertisement

The regime denounces the United States as the “Great Satan”, but bookshops outside Tehran University sell dictionaries of “American idiom” and even guides to adopting American accents.

This is American cultural power, perhaps the most important dimension of national strength. Until this week, America’s “soft power” was confined to the appeal of its fashion, music and films. Young Iranians could still unite behind their regime in reviling America’s leaders, especially President George W Bush.

Mr Obama’s victory has changed all that. At a stroke, America’s cultural appeal now extends all the way to the charisma and oratorical prowess of its new leader.

Even the full name of the president-elect, Mubarack Hussein Obama, might be calculated to appeal to Iran’s youth. Hussein was the revered founder of the Shia tradition of Islam, while every Muslim knows that Mubarack is Arabic for “Blessed”.

read more…

Fashion critics unimpressed by Michelle Obama dress

What do you think?

Barack Obama’s victory speech electrified the nation, but the dress his wife, Michelle, wore has been widely criticised, The New York Times said Thursday.

Michelle Obama appeared onstage at a huge Chicago rally late Tuesday wearing a black cardigan over a scoop-neck black sheath with splashes of red in the upper and lower half separated by a band of black at the hips.

The outfit was a slightly modified version of a dress presented by designer Narciso Rodriguez in September for the 2009 Spring season.

“I voted for Obama, but I didn’t vote for that dress,” homemaker and mother of three Jessica Bettencourt from Wisconsin told The New York Times.

“I don’t know what was worse,” Chicago lawyer Karla Wright told the paper, “that stupid criss-cross band around the middle or that black sort of border coming up from the hem.”

Not all comments were negative.

read more…

Obamas may bring new fashion sense to White House

I think the White House will become more fashionable

The Obamas’ first official appearance as first family-elect will be long remembered for many weighty historic reasons, but it could also signal another new beginning: An entirely different fashion sense in the White House.

The Obama family took the stage in Chicago Tuesday night in color-coordinated outfits, all with touches of red or black.

For Michelle Obama, no stuffy suits or demure pastels here: Instead she wore a striking red-and-black dress designed by well-regarded, but not-so-mainstream, Narciso Rodriguez.

President-elect Barack Obama wore the same style dark-navy suit custom-made by Hart Schaffner Marx that he wore at the Democratic Convention, the company says, accompanied with a deep red, striped necktie.

Older daughter Malia wore a red bubble-hem dress, while the younger Sasha wore a black dress with an oversized bow on the front.

Together, they made a pleasing picture of coordination and confidence, style-watchers say.

“One of the things about Michelle and Barack is that they have classic American style,” said Pamela Fiori, editor in chief of Town & Country.

read more…

Fashion-alysis of Sarah Palin

let´s hope she won´t become vice president

It’s all about substance, of course. But when you’re listening to a political message, it’s only natural to consider the messenger. More than any other candidate in recent memory – we’ll leave political wife Nancy Reagan and her Galanos gowns out of this mix – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s appearance has sparked copycats and controversy, from her famously emulated eyeglasses (witness the nationwide rush to LensCrafters for her Kazuo Kawasaki rimless rectangular frames) to criticism over the Republican Party’s $150,000 expenditure on clothing, makeup and accessories to make her sartorially suited for the office of vice president.

To some, this is much ado about nothing. To others, image is a key to character.

We asked three fashion experts to weigh in on the three glasses styles illustrated here, with these questions: What clues do Sarah Palin’s eyeglasses give about her personality? What image would she project in a different set of frames? And how does clothing affect the way we view a world leader?

Marcy Carmack

San Francisco style consultant who attends New York Fashion Week

From Palin’s rimless frames (left) we can glean that she doesn’t have much personal style. Wardrobe choices should be somewhat neutral, but there is a certain lack of commitment the rimless convey.

Cat-eye frames project an image that is a little too fashiony for a potential world leader, whether one thinks they are in fashion or not.

read more…

Judging a candidate by his wife’s fashion

quite entertaining article

So this week Americans go to the polls to select their new president. Standing in the booths, punching their ballots, they will consider the economy, they will consider policies, and they will consider – clothes.

Clothes? Despite the assertion by the McCain-Palin campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt that “with all the important issues facing the country, it’s remarkable we’re talking about pantsuits and blouses” (in reference to the news that the Republican National Committee spent $150,000 on Governor Palin’s wardrobe) the truth is, in politics as in everything, we have a lot to say about clothing because our clothing has a lot to say about us.

And nowhere has this been more obvious than in the case of the two other highest-profile women in the US presidential election, Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama. Almost without exception, their style choices offer a clear commentary on where their respective husbands and parties stand. To examine the prospective first ladies’ wardrobes is thus not to ignore “the important issues” in America today; it is, on the contrary, to confront the vast differences between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama – differences in values and vision that define this campaign and will determine its winner.

Of the two women’s fashion statements, Cindy McCain’s are probably the easiest to decode, as they visibly embody four basic Republican principles. The first – consistent with her husband’s Bush-aligned voting record – is Continuity. Mrs McCain, like Laura Bush, favours Oscar de la Renta, who has long been the designated White House couturier, and who dressed both ladies for the opening night of the Republican National Convention. Like her other campaign-trail ensembles, the gold shirtwaist Cindy McCain donned for that occasion reflected the formula Nancy Reagan developed in the 1980s. Brightly coloured and unfailingly feminine, McCain’s frocks and suits project an image of soignée, conservative womanhood. (This look couldn’t, significantly, be farther from the aggressive, pant-suited feminism of one-time Democratic presidential hopeful, Senator Hillary Clinton.) Thus attired, the former Arizona rodeo queen is rebranded as the perfect Republican helpmate: Nancy 2.0.

read more…

November: elections and fashion

So besides the question who will win,the fashion plays an important role

The Midwest is considered by many a wasteland of tacky trends and last season’s fashion filling the landmass between the style-savvy coasts. On top of living in a Midwestern city, Madison is also a college town where jeans and Badger apparel dominate with the exception of Ugg boots and North Face. Once casual, comfort-driven dressing is expected, how can fashion-forward students branch out of the mundane stereotype without looking like outsiders? Suddenly, wearing a dress and heels out on a Saturday night becomes a point of ridicule. It is time to establish and embrace fashion beyond the jeans and tees, and this is where I hope to come in handy.

The fashion industry’s top magazines do not necessarily target the college or Midwest demographic. The expense and extravagance of designer “must haves” rarely fit the budget or scene of a typical student. But that doesn’t mean they are not useful. I have taken the November issues of Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar and translated them for the average Midwest college student, exposing the hottest trends and how to wear them in a tasteful, chic manner without feeling out of place.

The focus of November, most obviously, is the election. But the other main headliner is the designer Resort Collections. Resort has become a third season in itself, or so the fashion industry claims, showcasing pieces for American vacationers heading to Palm Springs for the winter holiday. Personally, I feel as though it is the boredom of designers and the greed of department stores that has resulted in the Resort Collections, therefore I refuse to take much of it into consideration. The fall collections this year present enough excitement and exploration. In the November issues, two major trends of fall/winter continued to dominate the pages: menswear and glam rock.

read more…

What Palin fashion costs the Republicans

wow ! She is a real fashionista !

Last night Politico.com broke the story ‘RNC shells out $150K for Palin fashion’. The astronomical amount of money has been spent to dress Sarah Palin and her family since she was appointed as John McCain’s running mate in late August.The McCain campaign released a statment a few hours after the story broke on the internet to say that the whole affair was so trivial: “With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it’s remarkable that we’re spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses,” said spokesperson Tracey Schmitt. “It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign.”

more about “What Palin fashion costs the Republic…“, posted with vodpod

read more…