That glittery, champagne-colored J Crew cardigan US first lady Michelle Obama wore during a visit at No 10 Downing Street in London quickly sold out after photos of it flashed around the world yesterday
That glittery, champagne-colored J Crew cardigan US first lady Michelle Obama wore during a visit at No 10 Downing Street in London quickly sold out after photos of it flashed around the world yesterday.
Whether it was a meeting with the British prime minister and his wife or a reception with the queen at Buckingham Palace, all eyes were on the woman whom one British paper dubbed "Mighty Michelle" as she accompanied her husband to this week's G-20 summit of world leaders.
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Not since Jacqueline Kennedy dazzled Europeans during her 1961 trip overseas has a presidential spouse's fashion choices so enraptured the media on both sides of the Atlantic -- "a razzle-dazzling performance", according to the London Evening Standard, while SELF Magazine's Senior Fashion Market Editor Lindsay Taylor praisedu00a0Michelle Obama's "effortlessly chic, classic style".
Shoppers, too, flocked to J Crew and other stores yesterday to copy what fashion experts call the first lady's uniquely American taste in clothing.
That would be American as in: youthful, athletic, "glamazonian," said Mandi Norwood, author of the forthcoming book Michelle Style: Celebrating the First Lady of Fashion.
Compared to the somber tones sported by Michelle Obama's husband, President Barack Obama, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah -- who,u00a0Norwood observed, "looked like a dowdy nanny next to the glittering Mrs O"-- the first lady "totally nailed modern power dressing on this trip".
In the old days, power dressing meant sharp, angular lines and aggressive colors, but these days, "by not wearing a skirt suit, [Michelle Obama] is really setting herself apart from previous first ladies," said Tori Mistick, a fashion designer based in Shadyside. "The cardigans give her an approachable look, they are softer and less structured than a blazer -- two qualities that reflect her approach to life."
By contrast, the other fashion icon at the G-20 summit this week, France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, is going more in the direction of the square-ish suits favored by first ladies in recent decades.u00a0Carla Bruni-Sarkozy "used to be very feminine, but now is making herself look like a rectangle," Lyons said.
Whether it was a custom ivory tweed Thakoon coat and Jimmy Choos en route to Air Force One, or a black duster and chartreuse sheath from designer Jason Wu stepping off the plane,u00a0Michelle Obama elicited mostly positive reviews even as some wondered -- and others worried -- that she would go sleeveless when meeting the Queen.
At the Buckingham Palace reception for G-20 leaders, Michelle Obama didn't go sleeveless, choosing instead to wear a black Jason Wu coat, Isabel Toledo dress and black Alaia cardigan.
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