The State of the Union: WWMW (what will Michelle wear)?

(photo credit: Vogue)

In addition to jobs, the economy, homeland security and housing set to be on the agenda for this evening's "The State of the Union" address, there is another topic everyone is buzzing about; and it doesn't have to do with policy.

Instead, it has to do with Michelle Obama's sartorial choices which to some people, are just as important as the message the President plans on delivering tonight. In her most recent controversial appearance the first lady appeared clad in a red Alexander McQueen gown at a state dinner thrown for the People's Republic of China president, Hu Jintao- a seemingly good choice until critics accused her of being a communist sympathizer (wearing the color red when greeting the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China is apparently a no-no) as well as being un- American for not wearing an domestically based designer (looking at you Oscar de la Renta).

Tonight's choice is anyone's guess. I am pretty vocal about how I do not think our first lady is a style star, but to keep the nuetrality and patriotism I would love to see her come full circle and wear a purple (a non- partisan color) Jason Wu or Michael Kors (because they represent America much more than Oscar de la Renta) sheath.

P.S., now might be a good time to plug my friend's book, "Power Dressing: First Ladies, Women Politicians and Fashion" available for pre- order on Amazon. I LOVE books like these- it takes an atypical/intellectual/political look at fashion and Robb got Pamela Golbin, curator in chief at the Musee de la Mode et du Textile of the Louvre in Paris to write the forward. SO great!

More on Michelle Obama's accessories.

loree-rodkin-earrings3 This is a picture of the INCREDIBLE Loree Rokin earrings Michelle Obama was wearing at the "Kids Inaugural: We Are The Future" Concert on Monday night. Here are the deets:

White gold and diamond pave rectangle earrings with 12 green sapphire brios 1.09ct of diamonds 17.40ct of green sapphires

The cost of these little gems is $17,500. And yes, they were borrowed.

Inauguration and Michelle Obama.

michelle-obama I wrote about this on Twitter this morning but wanted to put it up on my blog as well. For the first time since Michelle Obama hit the media scene, I actually love what she had on- a canary yellow brocade shift dress and over coat by Isabel Toledo and a pair of green Jimmy Choo pumps. For those of you who don't know who Isabel Toledo is here are three fun facts about her:

-She is Cuban and based in NYC.

-She is married to Ruben Toledo, an artist and collaborator.

-She was the creative director of Anne Klein.

Just to clarify...

... a couple of you (ok, ok a lot of you) have written in re: my post on Michelle Obama's Loree Rodkin earrings. I do realize the Obamas probably have some money and therefore CAN afford $10,000 + accessories- but that's not the point. What I was trying to bring to everyone's attention is that she has been positioned as the "first lady of the people" wearing all those middle priced outfits (instead of Oscar de la Renta she rocked J Crew and H&M). So many fashion writers, editors and critics (including me) have been talking about Michelle Obama's foray into fashion, but why did't we talk about it when she was wearing the stuff everyone else could afford? Aren't we overstating it a little when we call her a fashion icon  (for the record, I DON'T) and compare her to Jackie O? Do you only achieve "fashion plate" status when you start upgrading your wardrobe $$$ wise, AND if that's the case, why is everyone giving Sarah Palin so much flack? Just sayin'... PS thank you for all of your comments. The discussion is GREAT!

When will wearing Obama gear stop being cool?

It seems like the new fashion trend in NYC is not booties and opaque tights for the ladies and skinny jeans for dudes but Obama gear. Between the "Hope" t-shirts and  "Yes We Can" pins and the Obama/ Biden tote bags, I am experiencing some major fashion fatigue (I am in Zurich right now so no one is wearing that stuff). The lovely peeps (and my former collegues) at Metro the free international daily asked me when I thought Bam fans will finally be over wearing all that election tchotchke. I said after the inauguration in January, but I just logged onto the Barak Obama site and it seems his gear is now on mark down. Maybe the Obama gear fad is going end sooner than I think...

Thoughts?

Malia Obama's little red dress: $110.

Malia Obama is ADORABLE,  but WHOA why did her parents Democratic strategists put her in a dress that retails for $110?? Really? In this economic climate?? I love how world leaders (Obama included) try to align themselves with the "working/middle class" but in secret eat arugula from Whole Foods and dress up in ultra luxe wear (PS I am not dissing WF or luxe wear, God knows I indulge in both waaay too often).  This dress sells at Neiman Marcus! ALSO, where are the Obamas getting all of these hi-fi clothes? In this Wall Street Journal piece,  Bernadette Reiss, co- owner of Biscotti (the label behind Malia's red dress) says she plans to reach out and offer "style assistance" to the Obama daughters. Interesting...

Michelle Obama's $10,275 earrings.

I don't understand why everyone is all over Sarah Palin's case re: $150,000 wardrobe when Michelle Obama was wearing a pair of Loree Rodkin earrrings on Tuesday night that retail for $10,275! Don't get me wrong, I am OBSESSED with Rodkin's designs. During the press previews several of us lo-fi editors put on a couple pieces and pretended they were actually a part of our permanent collection.  And to be fair, It is unclear where Michelle Obama got these white gold and diamond triple dangles (were they given to her? Did she purchase them at ultra luxe Ikram in Chicago? Did she borrow from her sister-in-law or Joe Biden's wife? ) but they definitely aren't fake nor are they affordable... well for me anyway.

P.S. did Mrs. Obama hire a stylist? Just askin'...

The first lady rocks Narciso Rodriguez.

I didn't love the dress on her. BUT from a pure placement stand point, I am beyond thrilled for Narcisco. Something like this was exactly what he needed. Thoughts?

Go vote and get discounts!

I REALLY don't want to be that annoying person that tells you to go out and vote or who to vote for (this IS a free country) but there are a ton of retailers offering discounts on merch. if you venture to the polls today and get a sticker. Here are just some of the sweet deals: Owl Lab Voting Discount: Bring in your voting sticker and recieve 20% off your purchase. Owl Lab is located at 20 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003 Hours: 11am- 8pm

Tracy Reese Hope for Change Election Party from 9pm-12 midnight (Receive a 20% discount during the fete) Location: 641 Hudson Street in NYC.

Would you wear this??

 

Gorgeous pictures, right? This is from a Vogue Italia shoot in 2007. Notice what the model is wearing on her head though- it's an Amish bonnet. Yeah- a real one! The other day I was on Fox Business talking about polygamist style. Turns out those enterprising women out in Colorado City created a web site so people can purchase FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Later Day Saints) approved children's clothes. They are shipping all over the country to places like California, New York and Arizona. There are about 10 women putting together the clothes now, but if demand increases they will add more peeps to the work force. How much do you wanna bet we see those long dresses and gibson girl hair on the runway next Feb??

Maria Pinto: the next Oleg Cassini?

Who can forget that fantastic purple dress Michelle Obama was wearing the nigh of her husband's Democratic primary victory speech? It was designed by Chicago based designer Maria Pinto who creates all of Mrs. Obama's looks including the red silk-crepe dress and jacket she wore on Super Tuesday and the white-cotton top and khakis while campaining with Caroline Kennedy. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Pinto says orders for her designs are up by 35% over the past 12 months. What's more, potential investors and employees have been cold calling.  I'm shocked none of the former Project Runway winners didn't think of this tactic to get their stuff out there since nothing else seems to be working for them...

Fashion and politics: stand by your party.

Would you buy this bag if you knew part of the money from the sale went to a political party? Designers Rachelle Copeland and Emily Ironi of Alexis Hudson think you would. They teamed up with Los Angeles artist Greg Miller to create the "Change" bag which embodies the creator's vision of the future, i.e., having a healthy planet,  economy and society. But what does that even mean anyway? The bag costs $95 with 10% of the proceeds will go to support the Democratic campaign. I'm just curious- are the designers donating to a specific candidate or the DNC?? And the mission of designing bag is to use style and fashion in order to rally a new audience of voters. Last time I checked, 99.9% of the fashion industry and "it" bag carrying girls were already registered Democrats. Not that I'm the expert (when it comes to politics), but if you are going to make a political statement wouldn't you do it in the form of an overt "statement" tee shirt the Marc Jacobs did it? P.S. designer Nili Lotan sent me a "war theme" scarf with machine guns on it. Does that mean I support our president if I wear it? Just sayin'...

 

The Marc Jacobs "Hillary" tee shirt

Spitzer style: first it was the red tie, now it's the blue.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JYEUhIobuk] I think it's interesting how Spitzer was wearing a red tie when he first apologized and today he sported a blue one. Seems like that's the color of choice when badly behaving politicians, chief executives, etc., have to publically put their tail between their legs and apologize.  Other dudes who had on a blue tie when the axe fell include, Stan O'Neal (Merril Lynch), Sam Waksal (Imclone), Andrew Fastow and President Nixon. Also, check out what Silda was wearing- the dark suit and scarf is gorgeous but she clearly looks like she's in mourning.

Stand by your man (wearing powder blue and pearls).

spitzer.jpg nn_costel_mcgreevey_040812_300w.jpg

 If any of you live in New York (or for those of you who don't and are CNN obsessed) you know our Governor had to fess up to a pretty sordid act involving hookers. Ew.

 I don't usually write about politics and fashion BUT I thought it was an interesting point Richard Blakely made on Boinkology regarding the outfits Dina Matos McGreevey AND Silda Wall Spitzer had on when their husbands (on two separate occasions) admitted to cheating on national television. Strangely, both women were wearing powder blue suit jackets with pearls!!! Apparently light blue is disarming!! And check out what Jim McGreevey and Eliot Spitzer were wearing- it's pretty much the exact same outfit!! I wonder if they "discussed prior" to Spitzer going on television. Just sayin'...